Mastering the fine art of delegation

Black Enterprise, April, 1992 by Roz Ayres-Williams

A funny thing about delegating. It's an essential management tool that frees you to become a more focused and strategic thinker, turns you into a respected builder of leaders and bestows upon you a reputation for getting things done. It also helps you leave at the end of the day with an uncluttered mind and an empty briefcase.

Yet, after all that has been said and done to teach delegation skills, this remains a typical scenario for many managers: stalled projects, a desk piled high with papers requiring immediate action, computers brimming with e-mail and their office doorways jammed with staffers anxious to dump their tales of horror and woe.

"When you fail to delegate, the monkey on your back gets fatter and fatter until it squashes you," says Roger Fritz, an internationally known management consultant and author of several books, including Think Like A Manager (National Seminars Press, Kansas City, Kan.,$16.95.) The reasons for ineffective delegation, and there are many, range from lack of confidence in the subordinates' capabilities to fear that an employee may perform the task better than you could. Some managers don't know what to delegate, others fear the empty syndrome (What's my job if I give all my tasks away?). Most are simply too detail-oriented, too afraid of failure, impatient or insecure to delegate. "The result is, they can't point to one person in their organization who would be qualified to replace them if an opportunity to move up came along," Fritz says.

The nondelegator tends to focus more on what she's doing rather than what his or her employees could be doing. She spends more time checking details than on long-range planning and supervising staff members. Reluctant to use the resources of team members, nondelegators often make, override or reverse subordinates' decisions, thus encouraging total dependence. She gives orders and then either checks constantly or forgets altogether. "While holding onto a project and information may increase your sense of importance and indispensability," says paul Maguire, a management consultant principal of the Human Resources Consortium, in Ridgewood, N.J., "it sends a message to your staff -- and your bosses -- that you're insecure and untrusting. It also weakens your ability to attract and keep the brightest and best talent. Few go-getters want to work for a know-it-all who refuses to let go of any responsibility, doesn't grow his people, and always does things the same ole way -- his."

Let's assume you're tired of watching your employees waltz out the door every night on time, while you're stuck with the work. "If you train your employees, clearly communicate your objectives and priorities, establish an effective feedback mechanism and slowly stretch your people with increasing responsibility, the delegation process becomes easier," says Maguire, a former training manager with a Fortune 500 company.

Although this sounds simple enough, the underlying assumption is that managers first must get over any primal fear of failure, of being shown up, or of losing control. Fritz, president of Organization Development Consultants in Naperville, III., believes the ability to delegates succesfully is a matter of heart. "It really boils down to whether you're the type of person who takes satisfaction -- joy -- in seeing others succeed, and are secure enough to bet your career on their success."

Following are 10 considerations that may make you a better delegator -- or help you find the heart to try at all.

1. Take your cues from top management.

Before you jump in whole-hog, closely examine the management style of key executives in your company. Do they reward those who delegate? Do people tend to operate with freedom and latitude? If mid-management appears to be following orders from the top, then the corporate culture may not support delegation as a primary management tool. In this type of company you can cut down your risk by delegating the most fail-scale projects only to highly qualified individual, while keeping your manager informed of your subordinate's progress and success. Enough successes on your part may help convince top management that playing it close to the vest isn't the only way to win.

2. Entrepreneurs, let go to grow.

Small business owners are often the worst delegators. "A business owner, particularly in the service industry, may feel he or she can do better than anyone else because he has already proven himself succesfully," says Fritz. "He may fear that the subordinate will learn critical secrets and run off with clients, or somehow diminish his sens of 'I made it on my own.' If a person achieves success on his own, selfishly, so to speak, then he will have trouble sharing the limelight with those who are in a position to help."

The entrepreneur is also often a perfectionist who mulls over every detail and feels that no one cares about his business quite as much as he does. "He may be right, but failing to reward those who help you to prosper is basically dishonest," says Fritz. "Give them a bump in salary, more stock, a new car to drive -- something to recognize their successful efforts to respond to your needs."