Delegating 101 – who should handle what? Why?

Greetings to all. Welcome to another topic I would like to explore with everyone: Delegating. My experience may be limited… I never had any direct reports, nor have I had the opportunity to be a manager (yet). However, as a team member / leader, I have had the opportunity to delegate tasks based on things that needed to get done and “those at my disposal”. In some occasions, those team members whom I assigned tasks to where overseas, and I had no prior knowledge of their work ethic. I simply had to trust them. In other cases, team members comprised of colleagues whom I dealt with on a daily basis and knew exactly what to expect. Whenever you know the team and their strengths, it can almost be intuitive to delegate tasks. However, what if you don’t know your team? What if the set of tasks do not fit into line with your team’s existing areas of expertise? What if you are not familiar with the team and there is urgency in getting the job done?

So, how do we delegate tasks? Not to be confused with the so-called “delegating responsibility”. As leaders, we can delegate tasks, but we cannot delegate responsibility. We are ultimately responsible for the actions of our followers. By all means, this does not mean that it’s ok for followers to be irresponsible. Your team members are expected to perform – and it is expected of you to communicate your expectations of accountability. In the end, whether something gets done or not, it is you (as the leader) who must answer for your team. I did not mean to digress, but I feel it was an important point to make. Let’s go back to answering the question, if we are to delegate tasks, we first need to understand all the tasks required to achieve the desired outcome. Next, we must consider if we have enough team members and what each team member’s strengths and capabilities are. Some may be able to handle multiple tasks. However, to assign an accounting task to someone who designs packaging specifications doesn’t make much sense. The design engineer may be a math-wiz and great with numbers. Yet, if working with balance sheets is not is forte, nothing can be more counter-productive. There may be less obvious examples where there is a selection of equally competent team members with similar skills. Determining who gets to do what may depend on other factors, like who may be more technical, or who is the more high-level thinker, or who has better interpersonal skills. Ultimately, the task should suit the team member’s competence and skill-set. Otherwise, the person will suffer out of his/her element, and the task’s expected completion timeframe will suffer as well.
When I first graduated from college, I used to be someone who felt I could do it all on my own… I was “independent” and “strong”. In the end, I would over-burden myself, take way too long to get some things done, and wind up suffering for no good reason. Maybe the suffering made me feel like I was someone. In time, I realized that asking around, and recruiting people to help in my endeavors did not only lessen the burden, but made things go smoother. In a way, even proved to myself and to others that I did not need to be in a position of power to get colleagues to “work for me”.
Most of us know that we cannot do everything by ourselves. I once read somewhere that to be an effective leader, you almost have to make pretend that you’re a “quadriplegic” and physically refrain from doing anything. I feel that is a bit extreme - I do not believe in being that “hands off”. On the other hand, to be “too involved” and looking over people’s shoulder and constantly checking on them is micro-managing. This can stifle productivity enormously. I believe in the “happy medium” where my involvement is enough to support my team, lead by example and do my part as well.
This week, I started to read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey [Click Here]. Only a quarter-way through the book, and I am enjoying it very much. The concept of “interdependence” is one that greatly applies to us all (as current or hopeful leaders). I will explain more in the posts to follow – but in essence, even though I, myself cannot accomplish much on my own, together we can make so much more happen. A big part of working together means delegating. Effective delegating means knowing your strengths and weaknesses as well. Knowing who can fill in your “gaps” and help you do more than when you try to do something alone. It can help you be more time-efficient. Rather than putting off a task until you complete the current one, you and a team member can work parallel-paths, getting something done in “half the time”.