From the Mailbag at Ask Tom

Question

What are some delegation skills?

Response

Delegation is really a sequence of skills. The sequence starts with identifying the person for the delegation. As delegation is your most powerful people development tool, the selection process requires both coaching and mentoring skills.

Successful delegations involve skills in both planning and goal setting. Communication skills are important during the delegation meeting, to make sure that expectations are clearly understood. Follow-up and evaluation skills are important as the delegation progresses, to determine course adjustments toward the final delivery in the delegation.

So you see, delegation is not a single skill, but a sequence of separate skills put together for a specific purpose. -TF

If you would like to ask Tom a question, follow the link to the right that says -Ask Tom-.

“I know you wanted two pages of detail, but I could only get part way down one page. Maybe I am stuck.” Jeremy pulled himself closer to the table. We had been working on his project plan, a short range project due in 60 days. As a first step I had asked him to paint a picture of the project, as if it were already complete.

I studied what he had written. It was a good start, but needed some fleshing out. “Tell me, Jeremy, are you working by yourself on this plan? Or do you have some team members helping you?”

Jeremy shook his head. He was thinking of an excuse, but didn’t know which way to go.

“Look, Jeremy, one of the biggest reasons managers fail is they think they have to do everything themselves. But you don’t. Let your team in on this project. They will help you. You have four main ideas in this page. Take your team, split them into four small groups. Give each group one of the ideas and tell them they have five minutes to present their thoughts in a meeting next Monday. At the end of a half hour meeting, you should have more than enough detail.” -TF

Jeremy was having difficulty with one of his best team members. Louis had always been Jeremy’s “go to” guy, but lately, things were different.

“Jeremy, when you decide on a project to delegate, how do you decide who to give it to?”

“Well, that used to be easy. Louis was always my guy. He could handle almost anything. My dad used to say, if you need something done, give it to someone who is busy because they will get it done faster than anyone else.”

“How is that working for you?”

“Not so good. Lately, Louis has been, well, not slipping, but, he just isn’t hopping like he was, even six months ago. I am beginning to wonder if he even likes working here anymore.”

“Think about the last delegation you gave to Louis. How much of a challenge was it for him?”

“Well, for Louis it was piece of cake. He should have been able to do it in his sleep with one hand tied behind his back.”

“Jeremy, I want you to think about something. Is it possible that you should have given that delegation to someone else and considered something more challenging for Louis? For delegation to be successful, the team member must see the task as a challenge.” -TF

“What is the hardest part about delegation?” I asked. Matthew winced. The more we talked about delegation, the more he hated it.

“Giving it up,” he said. “I was the best technician in the field. I could handle two more stops than any of the other service trucks. At the end of the day, I put my numbers on the wall, and they were almost always at the top.”

After a moment, he continued, “Now, I have to wait. It is really tough to know whether or not what I do, as a Manager, is really having an impact. Numbers will be down for a service tech and I wonder if it is my fault or is he just having a bad day.”

“You are pretty results-oriented, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I guess so,” Matthew replied.

“It’s more than a guess, Matthew. That is why you really liked being a technician. You got results on a daily basis. You could stick them on the wall and look at them. If you wanted, you could even pull your results off the wall, take them home to show your wife. You are in a different game now. The results are not so tangible. The results have to do with growth and development of your team. Welcome to management.” -TF

Howard didn’t like the list. The top three tasks I was asking him to delegate were three that he enjoyed the most. He defended, saying these tasks kept his technical skills sharp, kept him in the game.

“Look, Howard, you are a Manager. You are now the coach who cannot step on to the field without getting a penalty flag. Five years ago, it was important for you to keep your skills sharp, to be the expert, to be faster. Your role has changed. The most important thing you can do now is to develop your team, make them faster, sharper. They are your new technical experts. Five years ago, it was important for you to be successful. Now, it is important for you to make your team members successful. If you fail at that, you fail as a Manager.” -TF

P.S. I got an email from a reader who could not find a specific blog that he remembered saving to one of his mail folders. BlogTip. Management Blog is actually a website that you can visit. We have almost 200 postings saved by category and you can even search for a word or phrase. So, if you want to read all the postings on Delegation, just click on the category Delegation Skills and all the related postings will be displayed. Let me know if you have questions. -TF

It’s a trap that can cripple your effectiveness as a Manager.

On Friday, I was talking about Kenneth and identifying things that need to be delegated. I introduced three criteria.

• Tasks that are done on a repetitive basis.
• Tasks which are important to the company (aligned with a goal or solving a problem).
• Tasks that you like to do.

David posted a question in response to last Friday’s blog.

So, if it’s a task that you don’t like to do then you shouldn’t delegate it? Am I just confused or does that make no sense? I’d rather have people doing the things that I don’t want to do. That way I can enjoy my job more.

It is not a matter of delegating what you like or don’t like. It’s a trap. Most managers fail because they continue to do the things they like to do rather than do the things connected with management. When I look at your list of things you like to do, often 80 percent will be inappropriate work that should be done by someone else.

Why don’t you delegate it? Because you like to do it. And if you continue doing it, you will become less and less effective as a Manager. -TF

Delegation skills were a hot topic for Kenneth. Intellectually he knew he needed to do it. Intellectually he even thought he was doing it.

Most of the time, Kenneth wasn’t delegating, he was dumping. As we sat down, I wanted to see his list. “Kenneth, let me see the list of the stuff you are not delegating.”

“Not delegating?” he replied. “I thought we were going to talk about what I was delegating?”

“Oh, the not delegating list will be a lot more fun,” I replied. As we slogged through the list, we looked for three elements:
1. Tasks that are done on a repetitive basis.
2. Tasks which are important to the company (aligned with a goal or solving a problem).
3. Tasks that Kenneth liked to do.

Those items that met all three criteria became candidates for delegation. Take a look at your list. What are you not delegating? Which of those tasks meets the three criteria? -TF

Rebecca did a very smart thing. During the delegation meeting with Todd, she asked him to take the notes. As Rebecca described various elements of the delegation, Todd wrote things down. Before the meeting was over, she had Todd read back the notes.

It is simple, subtle and very effective. I meet many managers who are stressed beyond belief, thinking they have to do all the “work” in their meetings.

What dynamic changes when this responsibility is shifted to the team member? What can the manager now focus on?

It all started with Rebecca’s request, “Todd, I need to see you in fifteen minutes to go over the progress on the ABC project, and please bring a notepad. I want you to take some notes to document our meeting.” -TF

Aaron was in the middle of a dilemma. He was a firm believer that, as a manager, delegation was his most powerful development tool, but he was uncomfortable a possible outcome. If this delegation failed, it could be disastrous. His dilemma was “who?” Who should he pick to head this project?

His top gun was reliable, but always overloaded with work. Aaron wanted to spread the responsibility to a young, up and comer, but this would be a stretch, with the distinct possibility of failure. That’s when I got the call. Who to pick?

Selecting the right team member is the absolute toughest step in delegation. The manager can do everything else correctly, but if the wrong person is chosen, success may be fleeting.

Selecting the right person is a process of risk management. If the purpose of delegation is people development, and understanding that people learn the most from their mistakes, risk management becomes the rule of thumb to determine who gets the nod.

If you work in a nuclear power plant, you have to pick your top gun every time. If you run an ice cream shop, you can afford the occasional misstep. Gauge the risk, then pick the person. -TF