Doing it all: why is delegating such a tough task? IATEFL 2014
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The document discusses the importance and challenges of delegation. It provides a 5-step plan for successful delegation: 1) determine which tasks to delegate, 2) identify the right person for each task, 3) assign the task and provide details/support, 4) monitor progress and provide feedback, 5) evaluate performance. While delegation can reduce workload and stress, managers often hesitate to delegate due to fears about losing control or others' abilities. With the right planning and oversight, delegation benefits both managers and employees.
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Doing it all: why is delegating such a tough task? IATEFL 2014
- 1. Bruna Caltabiano Harrogate, England April 4, 2014. Doing it all: why is delegating such a tough task?
- 2. By the end of this talk, we will have discussed: • the importance of delegation; • why it is neglected or overlooked; • a 5-step plan that might help when it comes to successful delegation.
- 3. Why delegation? ‘Delegating is one of the most important skills demonstrated by successful managers and one often neglected or overlooked.’ (Brown, 2008)
- 4. Do you need to improve it? • Is your inbox always full? • Are you constantly working overtime on tasks that ‘only you’ can do? • Are you frequently interrupted by requests for guidance and clarification? • Do your direct reports feel unprepared to perform the tasks? (Brown, 2008)
- 5. The common ‘excuses’ ( I can do this better orquicker than my staff. I can do this better orquicker than my staff. I don’t have confidence in my staff. I don’t have confidence in my staff. It’s easier to do it myself , Idon’t have time to delegate. It’s easier to do it myself , Idon’t have time to delegate. I like to have things done my way. My staff will resentthe additional work. My staff will resentthe additional work.
- 7. Invest time to save time!
- 8. The • Reducing your workload and stress • Improving the level of trust between you and your staff • Testing a staff member’s capabilities before offering a promotion (Brown, 2008) • Motivating – a sense of achievement is central to any employee’s job satisfaction (Heller, 1998)
- 9. Five steps to successful delegation 1. Determine which tasks to delegate 2. Identify the right person for the job 3. Assign the task 4. Monitor progress and provide feedback 5. Evaluate performance (Luecke, 2009) ‘Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.’ -Robert Half
- 10. 1. Determine which tasks to delegate • Keep a detailed time log for two weeks • Ask yourself: - Which are the tasks I am doing that do not need to be done at all? - Which are the taks I am now doing that do not require my unique knowledge, skills or authority? - Which are the tasks I am doing that can only be done by me? • Identify the opportunities for delegation (Heller, 1998)
- 11. Average Week X Ideal Week (Heller, 1998)
- 12. The balanced approach • Some tasks: - Interesting - Motivating - Educational • Others: - ‘dirty category’: boring, physically taxing, unpleasant (Luecke, 2009)
- 13. 2. Identify the right person for the job • Time available • Interest in the task • Capability and reliability • Closeness to the problem or issue • Potential to benefit from the assignment (Luecke, 2009)
- 15. Employee and Manager skill set (Luecke, 2009)
- 16. 3. Assigning the job • The Big Picture • Key Details • Support • Authority • Outcome • Deadline (Luecke, 2009) (Brown, 2008)
- 17. ‘There is never enough time to do it right; but there’s always enough time to do it over.’ - Old saying (Tracy, 2013)
- 18. 4. Monitor progress and provide feedback •Descriptive, not judgmental •Focused on modifiable behavior •Specific •Well-timed •Works on both directions (Luecke, 2009)
- 19. A feedback loop (Luecke, 2009)
- 20. The Monkey • Harvard Business Review article written in the early 1970s by Willian Oncken Junior: ‘Never allow delegates to put the monkey back onto your back!’ (Luecke, 2009)
- 21. Ways of dealing with it: • providing positive reinforcement • helping employees assess the situation • encouraging the employee to come up with a solution, providing coaching as needed (Brown, 2008)
- 23. 5. Evaluate Performance Ask yourself: •Was the task complete? •Was the task completed on time? •Does the task meet quality standards? (Luecke, 2009)
- 24. Final analysis: •Employee’s strengths and weaknesses •Where training and development may be needed •Types of assignments the person is prepared to take on in the future. (Luecke, 2009)
- 25. Delegating Small activity but draws on and develops many other skills that every manager must have: (Luecke, 2009)
- 26. ‘As soon as a man climbs up to a high position, he must train his subordinates and trust them. They must relieve him of all small matters. He must be set free to think, to travel, to plan, to see important customers, to make improvements, to do all the big jobs of leadership.’ -Herbert N. Casson
- 27. ‘Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.’ - Ronald Reagan
- 28. Bibliography • Brown, T. L. Delegating Work. Boston: Harvard University Press, 2008. • Heller, R. How to delegate. New York: DK Publishing, 1998. • Luecke, R. A. The Busy Manager’s Guide to Delegation. New York: American Manager Association, 2009. • Oncken, W.; Wass, D. Management Time: Who’s got the monkey? Harvard Business Review, 1974.
- 29. Bibliography • Tracy, B. Delegation & Supervision. New York: American Manager Association, 2013. • White, Ron et al. Management in English Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. • White, Ron et al. From Teacher to Manager. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Editor's Notes
- Delegation makes some managers uneasy. They fear losing control of staff and projects, and they worry that they’re abdicating responibility. Do you recognize yourself in any of those sentences? Are any of those excuses holding you back? If so, it’s time to change – to begin looking for more opportunities to delegate work to people who can handle it. Delegation implies that the manager retains authority, control and responibility. To do otherwise would be abdication.
- We must trust our team and supervise, so that things won’t go wrong. Possessive feelings about work are negative and unproductive. Delegation involves the loss of direct control but the retention of overall responsibility. When you recognize the barriers that are preventing you from delegating effectively, you are more than halfway toward dealing with them.
- Reducing your workload your stress by removing from your to-do list tasks that others are qualified to do. This increases the time you have to focus on projects that reaquire particular skills and authority. stressincreasing the amount of time available for essential managerial skills. You will have time to strategic work. To get trust, you must give trust, and delegating is one way of doing ir. You’ll have a good estimate of that person’s strengths and weakenesses. 4. Effective delegation involves the stimulus of increased reponsibility and can provide a delegate with enriched level of satisfaction as well as a greater sense of worth.
- Once you’ve resolved to take advantage of the benefit of delegating, you need a method of doing it well. Many people sometimes think that when delegating, it is possible to forget about the task. But delegating is not throwing the issue to someone else.. There is much more than it.
- 1. And note the activities you undertake and the time taken. You will probably realize that only a small amount of your time has been spent on the high-level activities that only you can do.
- As you consider the tasks you’d like to delegate, save a few of these unlikeable ones for yoursefl. You’ll earn more respect as a leader if people see you are willing to share the hardships and not keep all the most pleasant and appealing jobs for yoursefl.
- Does the person have enough time? A person who finds a prospective task interesting is more likely to take it seriously and do it well – you may be able to generate it through the way you pitch the project ex: I think you will learn a lot from this project 3. those are two magic words. The candidate should be fully able to handle the job People who are closest to it are more likely to help solve it Could be a means of expanding capabilities
- You and your subordinates very likely share some skills in common. This list may be long, especially if you have worked your way up the ladder in the department. You had to learn all those things to get where you are now. But remember, even if you are the manager or director, it’s likely taht some people have specialized sills you don’t have. But there are skills that are uniquely your, things that only you can do. It is important to think of those aspects when deciding what to delegate. Think of the many tasks you are personally handling that fall within that shared skill set. remember, these are tasks your are doning that not require your unique capabilities as a manager – things that other people could do.
- How does the assignment contribute to large goals? What essential detais should you communicate? How are you briefing the person? What material resources or support do you plan to provide? Will the person count on someone else’s help? Who will the person report to? What is the level of authority you are delegating? What kind of decisions can the person make without your prior consultation? What results do you expect from the employee? Do you have a deadline in mind? What are the logical points at which you should check progress? Agree upon parameters for providing ongoing feedback as needed. Your feedback will be seen as less intruseive if you and your staff member agree ahead of time about when and how you will provide it.
- In poorly managed organization or work units, there always seems to be time to do it over and correct the mistakes and misunderstandings that were caused by not delegating effectively in the first place. In reality, there is always enough time to delegate a task clearly.
- Some guidelines Instead of saying ‘You’re not up to the job’ it is good idea to say ‘you don’t appear to be familiar with using Excel’s graphing function to make pie charts’ I think that you have the wrong personality for this work – I see you have problems organizing the reports. Have you tried..? This report could be more organized – you could get this point accross more clearly by using the first paragraph to state the problem, etc A few weeks ago I realized.. – I just noticed you and Bob have fallen behind schedule If you are the only one to speak it is not feedback
- GEORGE PICKERING In the classic Harvard Business Review article written in the early 1970’s Oncken Jr and Wass cautioned managers never to allow subordinates to ‘put the monkey’ onto their backs whenever problems were encountered. It is often faster and easier to take back the monkey – or to do the job yourself but resist the urge to do so! You don’t want to encourage this behavior. Try to help solve the difficulty instead. Ex: an employee asks you to get some info.
- Evaluation is the final step in the delegation process. Once the task is completed, you should objectively evaluate how well it was done. This can be done quickly and informally or more formally, depending on the task. 1. If it wasn’t, think of your responsability as well (instructions, resources, deadline, employees capability, supervision)