managing through delegation

Unit Outline

Managing Through Delegation

Selecting Delegates

1. Which employees make the best delegates?

* Motivated employees

* Ambitious employees

* Inventive employees

* Reliable employees

2. Which employees make poor delegates?

* Overworked employees

* Insecure employees

Managing Delegates

1. How do I motivate delegates?

* Provide compensation

* Offer recognition

* Use discipline

2. How can I trust a delegate?

3. Why should I trust a previously unsuccessful delegate?

* The delegate was mismanaged

* The situation was beyond their control

* The delegate should not have been chosen

4. How can I improve my delegation skills?

* Prioritize delegated tasks

* Listen to your delegates

* Observe the workplace

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* Discipline wisely

* Think proactively

* Balance delegation responsibilities

Communication and Delegation

1. Why is communication important to delegation?

2. How can I improve my communication skills?

* Choose the right time and place

* Know what you want to say

* Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues

* Avoid sarcasm

* Be specific

3. What is the most effective way to communicate with a delegate?

4. What are some barriers to effective communication?

* Cultural barriers

* Emotional barriers

* Intellectual barriers

* Physical barriers

Unit Content

Managing Through Delegation

Selecting Delegates

Which employees make the best delegates?

There are four kinds of employees that are well suited to be delegates:

z Motivated employees z Ambitious employees z Inventive employees z Reliable employees

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Motivated employees

Motivated employees are the most productive when completing a task. Their motivation comes from knowing that successful completion of a task will benefit them in the future. Motivated employees also understand the task's importance to the organization, which drives them to complete it successfully.

Ambitious employees

Ambitious employees enjoy the challenge of a new task. They view new opportunities as a way of improving themselves and the organization. Their drive for success improves their chances for producing quality work.

Inventive employees

Inventive employees do not require much guidance and are able to complete the task on their own due to their sense of autonomy. Selecting inventive employees saves you time, due to their ability to work with little guidance.

Reliable employees

Employees who have demonstrated dependability on past projects are more likely to complete tasks successfully. You must choose an employee whom you can rely on to carry out a project. Unreliable employees will jeopardize a task's completion and potentially create new problems in the process.

Which employees make poor delegates?

You should avoid selecting employees who possess the following characteristics:

z Overworked employees z Insecure employees

Overworked employees

Overworked individuals make poor delegates due to their lack of sufficient time for completing a new task. New responsibilities only place additional burdens on the employee.

Insecure employees

Insecure individuals are unable to complete tasks without supervision. Since insecure employees lack the necessary confidence to carry out a task, they need your constant guidance and reassurance. However, a confident employee reduces your involvement, due to the mutual trust in the employee's ability to accomplish the task.

Managing Delegates

How do I motivate delegates?

When delegates become discouraged, you will need to motivate them to put forth their best effort. There are three ways you can motivate discouraged employees:

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z Provide compensation z Offer recognition z Use discipline

Provide compensation

Employees are often motivated when they know they will receive compensation of some kind. Compensation can take the form of monetary rewards such as:

z Raises z Opportunities for advancement z Bonuses

Compensation can also consist of the following non-monetary rewards:

z The ability to learn or develop a new skill z The opportunity to work on a more challenging or desirable task when the current one is

completed

Offer recognition

Some employees feel highly motivated when their efforts are recognized. You can offer recognition through the following ways:

z Praise employees publicly, possibly in the company newsletter or at a meeting z Give employees token gifts of appreciation z Implement an ''employee of the month'' tradition

Use discipline

Sometimes disciplinary measures must be used in order to motivate employees. While disciplinary actions can be effective, avoid using discipline on a consistent basis, as it can serve to discourage employees. Some disciplinary measures you can use include:

z Referring to upcoming performance appraisals z Placing employee on temporary probation status z Limiting privileges until performance improves

How can I trust a delegate?

You should base your trust on a delegate's previous successes. If a delegate has shown in the past that they are a capable employee, you should trust their abilities. Trusting a delegate builds mutual respect and confidence between you and the delegate.

Why should I trust a previously unsuccessful delegate?

There are three reasons why you should trust a previously unsuccessful delegate:

z The delegate was mismanaged z The situation was beyond their control

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z The delegate should not have been chosen

The delegate was mismanaged

You cannot place blame on a delegate who received poor management. It is unfair to blame the delegate when they were given inappropriate guidance during a task's completion. To make a fair judgment of the delegate, you should overlook their failure due to poor management and focus on the individual's ability to perform the current task.

The situation was beyond their control

You should avoid blaming delegates for failure caused by unknown or unexpected circumstances. Delegates may encounter situations that are beyond their control regardless of the authority that you grant them. Overlook past failures caused by unforeseeable circumstances when assessing a delegate's abilities.

The delegate should not have been chosen

Delegates are not responsible for the problems encountered when a task is assigned at the ''last minute.'' When a delegate is chosen based on their availability instead of their skill, they are less likely to be successful.

How can I improve my delegation skills?

There are many ways to improve your delegation skills:

z Prioritize delegated tasks z Listen to your delegates z Observe the workplace z Discipline wisely z Think proactively z Balance delegation responsibilities

Prioritize delegated tasks

Before delegating tasks, you should identify which projects have the highest priority. Tasks that are important to organizational policy, structure, or your client and customer needs are priority tasks. Delegating priority tasks prevents projects from being forgotten or overlooked.

Listen to your delegates

Remaining open to a delegate's ideas will create new options. Frequently, delegates possess valuable knowledge that contributes to a task's successful completion. You should encourage your delegates to share their insight in order to create new alternatives when completing a task.

Listening to delegates can increase the confidence you have in them. Since delegates appreciate having the opportunity to voice their opinions, you can also build the relationship you have with your delegates by listening to their suggestions.

Observe the workplace

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Observing your workplace for ways to improve efficiency enhances overall productivity. Examine established work patterns in order to discover how reorganizing or reassigning tasks would benefit your delegates' workflow.

Discipline wisely

When disciplinary action is necessary, you should use corrective measures only after assessing all the facts of the situation. To discipline a delegate effectively, you also need to maintain control over your emotions.

Disciplining delegates unfairly fails to correct their behavior. The delegate will perceive you as being overly harsh and will begin to disrespect your authority.

Think proactively

Whenever possible, you should act before a negative situation develops. Acting instead of reacting allows you to make decisions that prevent crises from developing. You should constantly monitor and anticipate the needs of a situation to maintain a proactive position.

Balance delegation responsibilities

Jealousy can become a problem if employees perceive delegation as a tool to distribute tasks and responsibility unfairly. To avoid this kind of animosity, balance the amount of responsibilities you distribute among delegates.

Balancing responsibilities not only reduces conflict but also helps prevent delegates from becoming overworked with too many tasks or becoming apathetic due to lack of activity.

Communication and Delegation

Why is communication important to delegation?

Communication allows you to express your vision, goals, and expectations. Delegates need to be aware of their responsibilities in order to carry out tasks successfully. When communication is lacking, the task is not likely to meet your expectations.

The ability to communicate effectively is the most important skill you can possess as a delegator. Clear communication allows greater access to information for both you and your delegates. In addition, using good communication skills will foster the sharing of ideas, which improves your relationship with the delegate.

How can I improve my communication skills?

There are several ways you can enhance your communication skills:

z Choose the right time and place z Know what you want to say z Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues z Avoid sarcasm z Be specific

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Choose the right time and place

The physical environment in which you communicate with a delegate is significant. You must choose an appropriate time and place to communicate in order to reduce distractions. Choosing the right time and place enables you and the delegate to focus adequate attention on the discussion.

Know what you want to say

You can improve your communication skills by knowing exactly what you intend to explain to a delegate. Delegates must understand what you want accomplished with a task. Understanding what you want to communicate before you speak with a delegate helps you express your thoughts clearly.

Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues

You must learn to use verbal and nonverbal skills to enhance what you say. Using voice inflection and body movements that are naturally associated with certain feelings or behaviors can help convey your message. When verbal and nonverbal messages are contradictory, the delegate will become confused and misinterpret your meaning.

Avoid sarcasm

The implied message underlying sarcasm limits your ability to build trust with your delegate. The use of sarcasm suggests that you are belittling the delegate and creates a loss of respect. Losing your delegate's respect is damaging to your authority and will eventually lead to discipline problems.

Be specific

Avoid using vague words and phrases when speaking. Delegates may fail to understand the true meaning of your statements when you use unclear language. Do not leave any aspect of what you are communicating up to interpretation. Taking the time to be specific eliminates confusion and helps prevent problems from developing.

What is the most effective way to communicate with a delegate?

The most effective way to communicate with a delegate is by being as straightforward and clear as possible. Delegates will only understand their responsibilities and authority over the task when you communicate in this manner. When giving directions, encourage the delegate to ask questions to ensure that they understand your expectations.

You should also use clear communication to explain a task's boundaries. Delegates need to know their authority limitations and resource constraints.

What are some barriers to effective communication?

There are four barriers to communication you should avoid:

z Cultural barriers z Emotional barriers z Intellectual barriers z Physical barriers

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Cultural barriers

Variations in word usage, dialect, accent, and meanings are major communication barriers. Cultural barriers exist when there is failure to understand the speaking styles of other individuals. If you encounter a cultural barrier when delegating, you should make sure that you and the delegate take time to understand one another's messages completely.

In addition, you should avoid language that has any derogatory cultural, sexual, or racial undertones, as well as language that is disrespectful to an individual's nationality or personal values.

Emotional barriers

Emotional language intentionally brings out feelings in individuals. You can inspire delegates by using emotional language, but it can also be detrimental to the delegation process.

Placing unnecessary stress on delegates or attempting to anger them will not improve their performance. Upsetting a delegate results in distrust and below average work. Avoid using emotional language to discipline delegates or to offer corrective feedback.

Intellectual barriers

Demonstrating empathy and understanding allows delegates to feel more comfortable around you. Trying to impress a delegate through your knowledge of buzzwords and technical jargon will only make the delegate feel confused and frustrated. Using common language allows the delegate to clearly understand your expectations.

Physical barriers

You can communicate clearly only when the environment is conducive to do so. Take time to delegate tasks personally and in areas where there are no distractions. Avoid using the telephone, memos, and other non-personal manners of communication to prevent misunderstandings whenever possible.

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managing through delegation

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