Delegate to Significantly Increase Your Success

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Anne Bachrach, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Delegation refers to the assignment of responsibility to another person in order for that one to carry out a chosen project. What’s important to realize is that the person who delegates the assignment is actually still accountable for its outcome. The person in authority is handing an opportunity to a subordinate in hopes that he or she will make proper decisions and reflect well upon the authority’s name. Delegation involves cooperation, so it is not truly comparable to one surrendering their powers to someone else. Delegation is common practice among companies that hope to get more projects accomplished even while they help to improve employee morale. The opposite of delegation would be micromanaging one’s team of workers.

The benefit of delegation is that it allows staff members to develop their skills to full potential. In a way, it is about entrusting authority to someone else. You, as the authority figure, are giving that person the right to act independently, under the power of your name and your firm. It is understandable why you are held responsible in delegation; after all, you are recommending this subordinate as a capable leader. The staff member has the right to react to situations, making his or her own decisions, and not being required to report back to you for verification or advice.

How to Choose the Right Delegate

The question is not whether you should delegate authority. You will deal with delegation at some point, whether you are called on to delegate authority or currently are a subordinate who has been given a very promising opportunity. Therefore, it’s best to learn the criteria upon which a delegate is chosen. The first consideration is that a delegate must know what the superior wants. Exact terms may not be specified. However, the successful delegate understands the project at hand, he or she usually being an experienced co-worker of the superior. Though the delegate may not understand the specifics of the task at hand, he or she is capable of getting those details (usually from the superior) and then fulfilling the project without any thorough explanation. To a great extent, the subordinate must know the type of managerial personality that the superior possesses and what methods he or she would use to complete the assignment.

The next factor to consider is whether or not the delegate has the authority to achieve the assignment as stated. Authority involves not only authorization from a higher office, but also a subordinate successfully stepping into the role of an authority figure. The superior must first determine just how much clearance the delegate has, before commissioning them to an assignment. Usually, the superior will make it very clear if the delegate is entrusted with total power. By the time the superior trusts a delegate enough to lend them this authority trust has already been established. The superior is confident that the delegate knows how to handle a project, how to protect the company’s resources and image, and wouldn’t impulsively do anything to endanger the primary directive. Because of this assumption, the superior may determine that a full explanation reviewing the delegate’s powers is not necessary.

The final factor to consider is if the delegate knows how to accomplish a task without special instruction. Though the superior assumes the delegate knows a great deal about the organization’s directive by now, the nature of the task as well as the sources of information may still need to be communicated. If a delegate lacks basic knowledge on how to search for information and apply new information to a given setting, then an authority figure might assume a delegate is not ready for such responsibility. If a delegate has not earned the respect of his or her peers, or panics at the thought of increased responsibility, then this could indicate the potential delegate lacks confidence and the “how” knowledge necessary to accomplish a task.

Formalized Advice

It is important to remember that the more you, as an authority figure, attempt to avail yourself to the delegate for help, the less delegation you are actually doing. One way to counteract this potential problem is to formalize any conversations that take place between delegate and authority figure. For instance, you could demand that in order for a delegate to ask you for advice, he or she must take the time to write out a summary of pros, cons, alternatives, and recommendations. This way, even if the subordinate returns for advice, he or she is still being trained to make leadership-caliber decisions. If the delegate was correct in his or her thinking, then the trust and confidence level increases. If you disagree with any of the communication, then at least the delegate learns something new. This system prevents disaster, even while leaving the delegation system in place. In addition, have the delegate create procedures around everything they do so that if they do it infrequently, they don’t have to come to you the next time they might need assistance with completing something. Also, it is nice to have procedures if the delegate is out of the office, for whatever reason, or if you would have to terminate them. You don’t have to totally retrain someone else.

Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should continue to do it. Learn more about how to work with people, both superior and subordinate, and to make educated decisions that will help you on the road to success. Delegate as much as you can so you become more effective and efficient at those things that only you can do and are best for you to do to be more productive and successful. As you begin to release control one-by-one, you will start to experience how great it feels to just do what you are good at and work only on those things that produce the results you want.

© Anne Bachrach. All rights reserved.
Anne M. Bachrach is known as The Accountability Coach™. She has 23 years of experience training and coaching. Business owners and entrepreneurs who utilize Anne’s proven systems and processes work less, make more money, and have a more balanced and successful life. Anne is the author of the book, Excuses Don’t Count; Results Rule!, and Live Life with No Regrets; How the Choices We Make Impact Our Lives. Go to http://tinyurl.com/7na68k8 and get 3 FREE gifts including a special report on 10 Power Tips for Getting Focused, Organized, and Achieving Your Goals Now. Join the FREE Silver Inner Circle Membership today and receive 10% off on all products and services, in addition to having access to assessments and resources to help you achieve your goals so you can experience a more balanced and successful life (http://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/inner-circle-store/).