The Importance of Delegation

Delegation is not about palming off tasks, it is about maximizing skills and energies to achieve best outcomes. In the personal setting, I used to be one of these people that was critical of those who had cleaners, but the truth was, I was just not organised enough to have a cleaner at that time. I came up with all the usual excuses that most people have, including an element of smug self-righteousness that I didn’t need one or that only lazy people have cleaners.

There was also the confusion and misunderstanding when hearing others say that they had to get ready for the cleaner, questioning whether time and energies were really saved.

I now realise the synergistic benefits of working together (or in tandem); of organizing and tidying in preparation for a deeper clean.

In my article on time management I mention the four Ds of emails and tasks, Do, Delegate, Defer or Delete. When it comes to delegating, some common sentiments are, “It takes just as long to explain what is needed and no guarantee it will get done right”. “I might as well do it myself”, or “But I have no one I can delegate to”. While these may be warranted on occasion, there may be hard reasons behind why they might not be true. Allow me to explain with some examples and some hard statements, but remember, I don’t know who is reading this, so none of these comments are aimed directly at you. You may however decide that they may be applicable in your situation.

·       I once heard a leader lament (and in effect berate) a group in front of her for not having anyone to step up and assist in a specific task. She then went on to tell of how she had previously had assistance in this task, explaining the process with such precision that she ultimately scared off anyone from stepping forward.

·       There is a common meme doing the rounds that reads “A micromanager is someone you pay to watch your top talent walk away”.

·       I have seen leaders cry out for assistance only to see their assistants walk away because there is no understanding of purpose or clarity of what is needed.

Can you see how agency, value and organization can prevent these failures in leadership and lead to better outcomes of delegation?

· Agency is ensuring people understand their purpose and role in fulfilling a task, and are equipped to do so. An important element of this is to be able to make the necessary decisions with confidence, knowing that they will be backed by their delegator. 

· Value is when the delegate knows their acts have been appreciated.

· Organization is a key element in the art of delegating, knowing what needs to be done and communicating it well. Having spent a lot of time working in small and For Purpose (ie NFP) organizations who rely heavily on volunteers, I have seen firsthand how important it is to make it as easy as possible for people to give their time and services. 

To some extent, the only reliable way of ensuring that tasks are completed is to initiate some sort of contract, which will often include a salary. This doesn’t always guarantee reliable completion of tasks. In Human Resource terms, pay is often classified as a hygiene factor rather than a motivation. For salaried staff, obviously lack of pay has serious consequences, but salary itself is not a motivator. Including the message or sentiment “that’s what I pay you for” may not be a good long term strategy for task completion. This article addresses issues outside of salary. 

I have had some great role models who have achieved great things through very limited resources, by ensuring that value and agency is given to those carrying out tasks. Job satisfaction (for a paid or unpaid job) has long been seen as one of the great motivators, and while there are many other motivators beyond this article, value, purpose and agency are often high on most lists. My role models that come to mind, intuitively know this when delegating.

Some practical hints:

§ Organization is very important, but the value and the agency given to the delegate must outweigh your organization and instruction. Make sure you give clear instructions with clear outcomes, but make sure your parameters are broad enough to allow the delegate to breathe and move. They may not do it exactly the way you would have, but that is okay if they have understood the task and requirements properly. This means though that YOU have to be organized enough and taken the time to think and understand the intent of the task but allow them the scope to best determine how to go about the task. Avoid being that micromanager that watches good talent leave.

§ Make sure people know they are valued. Stephen Covey speaks of investing in people. Take the time and develop the habit of encouraging others. It takes hardly any time to send a quick email or offer a word of encouragement, but I will admit it takes time to develop habits of expressing gratitude. Can I suggest though that this is a vital characteristic for leaders to develop, so take the time to do so. Train yourself by developing a few key phrases that you can deliver with integrity and use them often in emails and in person. Before long, it will become second nature.

Delegates are always more willing to step up if they have clear instructions, agency and feel valued. By showing value to those around you through encouraging words, you are more likely to build up a pool of those willing to step up. If you only take a transactional approach, you may feel your pool is not as large as you would like, but the investment is not a direct correlation. There WILL be benefits, it will change you AND change others around you.

Meaning purpose and satisfaction are important to everybody, and people genuinely want and even need this. Developing leadership skills can exploit these Self Actualisation needs, but even better, it can create such synergy so as to achieve great things for all concerned. By moving beyond the transactional and exploitative approach, you can see the real benefits of learning how to work effectively with others,

Take the time to learn to delegate.