The morning after delegation
"We accomplish all that we do through delegation - either to time or to other people." Stephen Covey
You just delegated a task you could do yourself to Sharon. Now what? Let’s talk about delegation for a moment before I address that question. Irish playwright and political activist, George Bernard Shaw shared about communication, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” The same holds true for delegation. Has it taken place? How do you know? Delegation is not easy, and because it is not, many leaders either fail to do it at all or get it wrong. Even after over three decades of leading, I struggle with delegation. Leaders fail to delegate for three main reasons.
1. Guilt
2. Laziness
3. Fear
When guilt is involved, leaders feel bad about handing over work so they do the work themselves, thus violating the true demands of their position. For instance, if Larry, the director of operations in a trucking company is changing a tire, he is not organizing and synchronizing the company as his position demands. Laziness occurs when a leader avoids the work associated with delegating a task. Again, they end up doing it themselves. Leaders who have not established trust or who are overly risk adverse fail to delegate due to fear. They are terrified their subordinate will fail, make them look bad, or not complete the task as they had envisioned.
To properly delegate, a leader must formally and clearly task a subordinate. This can be done verbally or in writing through an email. “Sharon, I’m delegating this task to you…” Leaders should delegate by issuing intent (read more on intent here). Intent consists of Purpose, Key Task(s), and End State. Purpose is the ‘why’ behind the task. “Sharon here is why I’m asking you to do this, why this task is important, why I have selected you, etc. Key Tasks are steps or subtasks a leader knows must be done to ensure a successful outcome or end state. “Sharon these two criteria must be met to achieve success.” End State is how the task looks, feels, sounds, etc. when complete. Once a task is delegated through intent, a leader’s work is far from done.
Following delegation, the ‘morning after’ or the next day or next week, a leader should follow up. “Sharon, walk me through your progress thus far on the task I delegated to you.” Where several tasks may have been delegated, ‘the morning after’ a leader could sit with a subordinate and review his or her tasks to ensure the list is complete, field any questions and ensure progress toward end state.
Indeed, there are subordinates who take on tasks with zeal – those who need no reminding or supervision. However, it is a leader’s duty to ensure tasks are assigned and are being worked. Moreover, things change, and leaders should revisit their delegated tasks the ‘morning after’ wherever that may be, to ensure all is current, being handled, and to address any changes.
Delegate how you may – email, verbally, or in writing, but don’t forget the morning after where you truly ensure your delegation has taken hold – that people are working on assigned tasks and that there are no needed changes. If you find your delegation has not taken hold, revisit your intent, start the process over and 'tomorrow morning,' check on it.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell