Delegation: How to Delegate Effectively?

Delegation: How to Delegate Effectively?

WHAT IS DELEGATION?
Fayol's 13nd principle ("Initiative") is related to the management role of delegator. Kreitner (2009) defines "delegation" as: the transfer of decision-making authority to subordinates (p. 253).

WHAT IS NOT DELEGATION?
Sadly, many managers mistakenly regard the passing on of "tasks", not "responsibilities" as delegation (Gallo, 2012). The result is overstressed managers and less satisfied employees who do not believe they have "ownership" of projects (Gallo, 2012). As a result, initiative is low.

WHY DELEGATE?
Pfeffer (as cited in Gallo, 2012) explains that managers are often trapped in the "self-enhancement bias," afraid they may appear as less integral to corporate success if they delegate. Introspection is necessary to accept and overcome this issue, recognizing that the greater benefit comes from delegating, which gives managers to have more time to address critical issues and subordinates feel like they are a part of the big picture.

DEGREES OF DELEGATION
Kreitner (2009) emphasized that delegation is not an "all-or-nothing proposition" and managers can ease into the process (p. 253). There are several degrees of delegation, beginning with asking employees to research issues and report findings to managers and ending with allowing employees to research issues, and develop and implement solutions (Kreitner, 2009, p. 253).

THE RESULT OF PROPER DELEGATION
Through proper delegation, employee initiative is cultivated and competencies are leveraged for organizational success.

HOW TO DELEGATE EFFECTIVELY?
Gallo (2012) said that managers should implement the following tips for effective delegation:

1. SELECT RIGHT PEOPLE: Select employees with the knowledge and willpower to take on responsibilities.
2. BE ACCOUNTABLE: Give your direct reports permission to hold you as their manager accountable for delegating properly and include such role in their annual performance appraisal.
3. ENABLE: "Really let go", by giving employees the tools and training to take on projects and make decisions from start to finish.

⇒ If you have any additional tips or suggestions on delegation, please share…

Sources:
Gallow, Amy. (2012, July 26). "Why Aren't you Delegating?" Harvard Business Review, July 2012
Kreitner, R. (2009). "Management". (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin

		Comments Sort by date Sort by rating Rating
		3 Javier Elenes Business Consultant, Mexico
	First Clarify the Expected Results, then Delegate I recommend to start by clarifying the expected results, and then delegate, so: 1. Clarify the "exp... Sign up

		2 Paramathmuni srinivas Kumar India
	Mentoring Before Delegating In my view, sufficient preparation and mentoring need to happen before effective delegation happens.... Sign up

		11 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Tips on How to Delegate Effectively Thank you Genevieve. The ability to delegate well is crucial for any manager. For some people deleg... Sign up

		3 Mike Walsh, United Kingdom
	Delegation as a Negative Tactic Delegation should be a positive and enabling experience but assumes the delegator is behaving in a m... Sign up

		2 Andrew Blaine Business Consultant, South Africa
	Why Should You Delegate? The primary reason for delegating is to permit the delegator to concentrate on more valuable tasks w... Sign up

		4 Howell Strategy Consultant, Canada
	Delegation - Best Practice I have found the key to successful delegation is coming out of the starting blocks clear and aligned... Sign up

		0 Otieno Manager, Kenya
	Benefits of Delegation for Both Parties Delegation gives the delegee an opportunity to learn new tasks and responsibilities. As delegator o... Sign up

		2 Abel Anyolo Student (MBA), Kenya
	Successful Delegation as a Manager For a successful delegation, managers need to be courageous and show commitment to the process. They... Sign up

		3 Paolo Pozzi Business Consultant, Italy
	Delegation: Mind the Details! I support @Javier Elenes's points. In addition I observe the most common mistake is omitting or ove... Sign up

		1 Murty Magda Pane Lecturer, Indonesia
	Delegation and Leadership In my opinion, delegation is always aligned to leadership. But, I still do not have enough knowledge... Sign up

		2 Shaheen Lakdawalla Malaysia
	Delegation is a Leadership Style Delegation is a leadership style. In my opinion the main steps to delegate succesfully are: Exp... Sign up

		2 Hussain Abdulla Entrepreneur, Bahrain
	How to Delegate Depends of the Type of Organization I think delegation depends on the type of organization or business. For instance, in the PUBLIC org... Sign up

		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	RE: Delegation and Leadership @Murty Magda Pane: I don't know if there is actual research to back this up in a quantitative way, b... Sign up

		2 Rakesh Bhatia India
	Delegation and Trust Let's define Delegation as: sharing responsibility, giving a sense of ownership, empowering someone ... Sign up

		1 Francis Joseph United Kingdom
	Delegation, Leadership and Team Building For the purposes of promoting team work, trust, effective work partnership, resource development and... Sign up

		1 Jose A. De las Rivas Management Consultant, Spain
	Delegation is a Leadership Style for Poor or Lazy Leaders In my personal point of view, a manager can delegate a task and the authority for carrying out some ... Sign up

		1 fulayi Zambia
	Advantages of Delegation for Team Members The team leader is not the only one who sees the advantages of delegation. Your teammates will see t... Sign up

		1 pradeep deo Strategy Consultant, India
	When to Delegate or to Hire a Consultant Effective leadership knows the art of delegation. Before delegation one should have a thorough knowl... Sign up

		3 Ranjeet Menon Project Manager, India
	Delegation Promotes Growth of People Kotter's 8 steps of transformation can serve as guidelines for effective delegation. I believe deleg... Sign up

		1 Emmanuel Mwirichia Manager, Kenya
	Empowering Really Helps The lack of a structured manner of delegation leads to confused 'delegees' and frustrated delegators... Sign up

		3 Andrew Blaine Business Consultant, South Africa
	Delegation Without Authority is a Miser's Gift @Ranjeet Menon: If a Manager delegates to a subordinate without giving the selected subordinate the ... Sign up

		0 Ranjeet Menon Project Manager, India
	Key Aspect of Delegating Authority @Andrew Blaine: First of all, no responsibility comes without an associated authority. To prepare pe... Sign up

		0 Andrew Blaine Business Consultant, South Africa
	Trust and Authority @Ranjeet Menon: Thank you for your response. May I suggest that in your response you replace "author... Sign up

		1 jorge anibal hoyos hoyos Manager, Colombia
	Delegation Must Be Well Prepared The employees must be prepared to receive responsibilities in the long run. They must be equipped wi... Sign up

		2 Ofwono Willy Osinde Project Manager, Uganda
	When to Delegate and Why In most cases, managers delegate when they are pre-occupied with more strategic activities of an org... Sign up

		1 jorge anibal hoyos hoyos Manager, Colombia
	When to Delegate? It Depends on… There are I think no clear rules that exist to determine when to delegate since the decision to dele... Sign up

		1 mchelu Teacher, Tanzania
	Why Managers Should Delegate Responsibilities A manager is accountable to delegate responsibilities to: Prepare subordinates for higher manag... Sign up

		0 Candy Geiger United States
	Re: Delegation is a Leadership Style @Shaheen Lakdawalla: I want to comment/clarify the delegation steps als I I believe Ms Lakdawalla is... Sign up

		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	From Doing to Leading As your responsibilities as a manager or leader continue to grow, it becomes more and more impossibl... Sign up

		2 Hong Sun Management Consultant, Canada
	7 Levels of Delegation (Appelo) Jurgen Appelo, the prominent author of the book Management 3.0 that’s recognized as an agile classic... Sign up

		1 Mohamed Traore Project Manager, Mali
	Mistakes to Avoid in Delegating Responsibility To delegate means to entrust somebody, or to appoint a person as a representative. In management, de... Sign up

		2 Norman Dragt Netherlands
	Delegation is Dependent on the Organization and the Hierarchical Level @Hussain Abdulla: I too think that delegation is dependent on the type of organization. As in public... Sign up

		1 Frederic A Parker Consultant, United States
	Delegation and the Monkey Since 1972 when I first became involved in leadership development, the best book I have seen about d... Sign up