This article could be entitled,
"How to Learn to Delegate in Five Easy Steps". Anthony
Urbaniak spells out exactly (and in Five Easy Steps, really)
the way most of us fail at a task that sounds pretty basic: "here…you
do this". That's how most of us think of delegation. But
what the author is telling us is that although most of us think
we are ready for this most mundane of supervisory tasks, we have
not dealt with some basic human frailties that keep us from succeeding.
Why should a supervisor delegate responsibility?
The author suggests the obvious: when a supervisor has more work
than he or she can accomplish, the time is right to think about
delegating jobs to a subordinate. And there are benefits not
only to the supervisor, but to the employee. Letting go of routine
tasks can give the subordinate a real morale boost and act as
a signal to other employees that their desire to jump in and
work as a team can result in a new and interesting assignment
that suits their special skills.
Why do supervisors fail to delegate? According
to Mr. Urbaniak, a supervisor may resist because of uncertainty
about him or herself. In other cases the supervisor might fear
displeasing his or her own manager. And in still other situations
a supervisor might simply not believe that someone else could
possibly do the job as well as him or herself.
In the end the author says that successful
delegation is all about faith, and it really is. A supervisor
will have faith that he or she has:
- Chosen the job to be delegated carefully;
- Chosen the right person to do the job,
thus helping to assure that the delegated task will be performed
well;
- Notified everyone on staff of the delegation,
helping them to understand whatever new work processes it might
require;
- Made the assignment with substantial interpersonal
and communicative skills; and,
- Made him or herself available for follow
up and coaching to ensure that both parties are comfortable with
the return on all this effort.
As with many supervisory responsibilities,
planning is key. By following these Five Easy Steps you can actually
take that long weekend vacation and leave your cell phone in
the "Off" position the whole time!