Do you delegate as much as you can? - Brief Article

Nation's Business, July, 1996

Do You Delegate As Much As You Can?

By aligning duties in a more efficient way, delegating not only can make for greater overall productivity but also can reduce overload and burnout of managers. To learn whether you are a good delegator, answer "yes" or "no" to each of the following questions:

* Do you often work overtune?

* Do you take work home evenings and weekends?

* Is your unfinished work increasing?

* Are dally operations so time-consuming that you have little time left for planning?

* Do you keep control of all the details needed to do a job?

* Do you frequently have to postpone long-range projects?

* Are you distracted by constant unexpected emergencies?

* Do you lack confidence in your subordinates' abilities to shoulder more responsibility?

* Do you find yourself irritable and complaining when the work of your group doesn't live up to expectations?

* Do conflict, friction, and loss of morale characterize the atmosphere of your work group?

* Do your subordinates defer all decisions to you?

* Do you instruct your subordinates to perform certain activities, rather than accomplish certain goals?

* Do you feel that you're abdicating your role as a manager if you ask for your subordinates' assistance?

* Have subordinates stopped presenting their ideas to you?

* Do operations slow down much when you're away?

* Do you believe that your status and the salary you earn automatically mean that you have to be overworked?

If nine or more of your answers are affirmative, it's likely that you're not delegating enough. If so, identify the masons, and work on eliminating them. Here are the most common reasons:

Lack of patience. (It takes longer to explain it than to do it myself.) Insecurity. (I'm So eager to prove myself that I refuse to delegate.)

Inflexibility. (I'm convinced that nothing can be done properly unless I do it myself-)

Inadequacy. (I'm afraid of being shown up.)

Occupational hobby. (I'm so attached to some aspect of the job that I just don't want to give it up.)

This test is one of many in a new book, Think Like A Manager, by Roger Fritz, who has 30 years' experience as a corporate manager, university president, and management consultant. The $16.95 book can be ordered from Career Press by calling 1-800-CAREER-1 (1-800-227-3371).