1. Give the Whole Task
Supervisors and employees alike often cringe at the thought of the word - delegation. I believe it ranks second in leadership bingo to the word “change.” What is so difficult about delegation? Many would quickly reply that it has something to do with trust. Trust that it will be completed timely and without errors or problems, not only because it has to be, but also because the supervisor needs to feel confident that the employees are competent. Trust, accuracy, confidence, and competence - the point that I am making here is that there are many difficulties, many of them emotional in nature, that prevent otherwise great supervisors (read leaders) from being effective delegators.
The first and perhaps most important step in delegation is - giving the whole task. When we give the whole task the person feels a sense of ownership and responsibility. Once given (read delegated) that responsibility we have sent a message that says “I trust you to do this work.” In healthy organizations this motivates and energizes the employee. It then becomes the responsibility of the employee to fulfill the job duties. Lack of fulfilling their job duties would of course indicate that they are not a fully performing employee – they are something less.
How do we know if they are fully performing? Have you clearly defined the expectations?
Successful outcomes can only result from Competent Delegation. The delegator must express precise expectations, empower independent action and define the parameters within which action may occur. Imprecise assignment definition or inadequate resources frustrate both parties in the transaction.
ReplyDeleteI once had a boss who could not define his expectations. When presented with a viable solution that met all of his divulged criteria, it was rejected. The usual phrase of rejection was, “That’s not what I want.” When pressed for clarification, the next response was, “I’ll know it when I see it.” Seldom did I hear, “That’s what I want.”
After project approval, and before implementation, I was never sure how a project would turnout. If the implementation was as planned, then I knew I had it right.
Thank you was not in his vocabulary.
Gil Longwell
Meeting with Success! llc
I like the phrase - "competent delegation" it feels like it puts an emphasis on the delivery! Great post and sadly the experience you wrote about is not uncommon.
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