Keith Tatley

Manager Foundation

Delegation in management is a powerful task management tool. Because successful delegation is how managers manage their workload by engaging the skills and dedication of their employees to produce work. In this module, you'll learn common delegation mistakes to avoid.

Introduction

<p><strong>What Not to Delegate</strong></p>

<p>The more you can successfully delegate, the more you will improve productivity. Because the way to rise above your role is to prove that you can take on new responsibilities. But there are some items that you MUST NOT Delegate:</p>

<p><strong>Personal Requests</strong></p>

<p>Your boss or other superior sometimes give you direct requests because of your specific expertise or because they require a high level of service.</p>

<p>This doesn't leave much room for learning experience and the superior may be expecting a high, personal level of service.</p>

<p>Exceptions: Routine work, that is simply a matter for you to pass on to the best employee for the job.</p>

<p><strong>Crisis Situations</strong></p>

<p>Crises should have your close personal involvement to be managed fast and effectively to prevent them from escalating out of control.</p>

<p>Exceptions: You have someone on your team who is better placed to deal with the crises than you are (for example a crisis manager)</p>

<p><strong>Disciplinary Actions</strong></p>

<p>Disciplining is a primary function of any managerial position, especially when it comes to taking actions such as demoting, suspension or termination. By offloading the unpleasant task of discipline to another, you also run the risk of losing the respect of your team, as it may appear that you are trying to avoid the situation.</p>

<p><strong>Giving Performance Communication</strong></p>

<p>Performance Communication is a primary function of being a manager. You are responsible for the performance of your team. This is why you must deliver feedback personally.</p>

<p>Providing feedback directly and in person, eliminates the possibility that your true meaning is lost when your message is filtered through a third party.</p>

<p>Being a manager means you must do the duties of a manager. If you don't take personal responsibility for giving feedback you will lose the respect of the team. Giving feedback is a subtle way of establishing your authority as a manager. Giving feedback is how you show your employees that they and what they do is important to you.</p>

<p><strong>One-on-One Meetings</strong></p>

<p>Remember, the purpose of one-on-ones is to build functioning relationships with each of your direct reports. And to get to know each other better. That’s something that only you can do personally!</p>

<p>One on One meetings are where you take care of most of your management duties in one go and so this is why you need to attend personally</p>

<p>Exceptions: When you are away for an extended time period and have a stand in manager (although they will not do everything that you do in one on one meetings such as they will not talk about long term career prospects.</p>

What You Must Not Delegate

<h2>How to Avoid Reverse Delegation in Management</h2>

<p>How many times have your directs come back to you for help after you’ve delegated work to them? How many times have you found yourself taking back delegated work? Well you’re not alone. This is a typical management problem. It’s natural for employees to turn to their boss when they need help with a problem. You know how to solve the problems because you used to do the job before you delegated it to your employee. But if you delegate work and then end up solving all the problems, then you’ve failed at work delegation. Successful bosses don’t solve employees problems for them. Successful bosses are masters at given their problems to employees and then encouraging their employees to find their own solutions. This is how you avoid reverse delegation.</p>

<h2>Are Your Habits Sabotaging Your Work Week?</h2>

<p>It’s only natural to want to help your employees. But that can create more problems than it solves. The more you help your employees the more you are ‘training’ them to keep bringing you their problems. It’s a typical Pavlovian response scenario. When you solve employees problems for them, what you end up with is:</p>

<ol>
	<li>Your employees start to bring their own problems to you to solve,</li>
	<li>You end up with more work and become the bottle-neck,</li>
	<li>Your employees don’t take ownership for your solutions</li>
	<li>Your employees don’t learn the skills and confidence they need to solve their own problems, and</li>
	<li>Your employees bring you more problems to solve</li>
</ol>

<p>Tip: It’s much easier to <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/3172699/overview?instance=2525789">train your employees to solve their own problems.</a></strong>When you do, you will find that they bring you fewer and fewer problems.</p>

<h2>You Need to Fight Your Own Natural Tendencies</h2>

<p>If you’re a High D or High I personality type then you just want to get to the solution. You know you can solve the problem quicker and so you have a natural tendency to solve the problem yourself. If you’re a (Supportive) High S personality type then you have a desire to support your employees. This means your natural tendency is to help your employees by solving their problems for them. And if you’re an Analytical (High C) personality type then it’s your natural tendency to want to solve problems.  (If you don’t know what that is, you need to DISC. It’s how managers deal with diversity: <strong><a href="http://managerfoundation.com/disc">managerfoundation.com/disc</a></strong>).</p>

<p> </p>

<p>But the number one management principle is that staff are there to help - that’s why you employ staff. When an employee comes to you for help with a problem the first thing to understand is that it’s their problem - not yours.</p>

<h2>Managers Need to be Supportive and Demanding</h2>

<p>Now some managers are good at being demanding, they put pressure on their employees to meet high expectations. This is good at producing results in the short term but ends up alienating and losing employees. Other managers are good at being supportive, their employees are faithful to them but these managers aren’t good at encouraging their employees to high expectations.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The best managers are both supportive and demanding at the same time. To avoid reverse delegation be demanding in insisting that your employees solve their own problems. And be supportive to coach them through the problems they need to solve. You can do this with an under appreciated manager skill which is <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/3172699/overview?instance=2525789">Active Listening.</a></strong></p>

<h2>Use Active Listening to Get Your Employees to Solve Their Own Problems</h2>

<p>Here’s an example of a typical management problem. Your employee Sue has encountered a technical problem and is unable to complete a delegated task. Instead of solving the problem for Sue or telling her how to solve the problem. Use <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/3172699/overview?instance=2525789">Active Listening</a></strong> to listen to your employee and guide them to find their own solution.</p>

<p>The dialogue looks something like this “Yes I understand that you’re experiencing difficulties - it is a challenging task. Doing the job comes with the responsibility to find solutions for your problems. I’d like you to tell me how you’re going to fix this issue and I’m happy to give you some feedback on whether I think that will work or not. In addition if you like we can put this onto your development plan. Because if you learn these skills you won’t have these problems in the future”</p>

<h2>Secret Ninja Manager Skills</h2>

<p>BOOM! And that’s why I call this “Secret Ninja Manager Skills.” The employee has come to you with a problem. You’ve turned it back on them. You’re being both demanding and supporting them to get better. In a super quick way.</p>

<h2>Addressing some of the FAQs around Avoiding Reverse Delegation</h2>

<p>Managers do reverse delegation because they are concerned that things will go wrong if they leave the job in their employees hands. Here are some responses to the most common concerns:</p>

<h3>What if They Can’t Do It?</h3>

<p>People are incredibly resourceful. They might not know how to fix something the way you would but you’d be surprised at what a sufficiently motivated workforce can achieve. As an extreme thought experiment. Imagine their lives depended on it. Would they still not be able to fix it?</p>

<h3>What if it’s Inefficient?</h3>

<p>So you can fix it in 5 minutes and it takes your staff member an hour. So the maths says that it’s better for you to fix it – right? Well no because you can’t fix everyone’s problems. All those 5 minutes add up until you can’t do your job. And if this is part of their job then it’s an investment for them to learn how. You can be sure they will get better and faster.</p>

<h3>What if it Goes Wrong?</h3>

<p>I totally understand. You’ve got high standards, you’re smart and you don’t want stuff to go wrong. I can’t guarantee you that this won’t go wrong. In fact I can virtually guarantee that this WILL go wrong at some point. If you do this 10 times I bet that maybe as many as 5 will have sub optimal results the first time. By this I mean you could’ve done a better job yourself. And let's not pretend, there will be some things you just have to do yourself. The first few times you do this, you will not be very good! Practice to get better. Even if all that happens is that you avoid some of your problems.</p>

<p>But there’s always the chance that something will be the exception. As they say, no risk, no reward. If you’re not prepared to take the risk then this isn’t for you. Consider whether or not you think the rewards are worth the costs</p>

<h3>Is the Investment Worth it?</h3>

<p>The vision to work towards is that active listening promotes ownership. When your employees take ownership for their work, then you will have fewer problems, not more. In your opinion, what do you think the immediate and long-term benefits will be? In your time and money.</p>

<h2>Conclusion</h2>

<p>As a manager, having an open door policy with your staff will help build better communication. But instead of solving your employees problems for them, it’s better to train your employees to solve their own problems.</p>

<p>PS: Want to avoid those ad-hoc interruptions that take time and focus away from your own responsibilities? Then follow this weekly <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/2676815/overview?instance=2525789" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one-on-one Meeting</a></strong> process. Your one on one meetings with employees are the best place to practice your active listening skills.</p>

<p>Solving employee problems through active listening is a secret ninja management technique that you can use to maintain calm and avoid problems. Do it right and you’ll not only get your time back but you’ll also:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Build employee skills and motivation,</li>
	<li>Promote employee accountability,</li>
	<li>Encourage employees to take ownership and solve their own problems and,</li>
	<li>Increase employee creativity.</li>
</ul>

<p>Avoiding problems is a great way to achieve Management Zen. So the next time your employee comes to you with a problem, <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/3172699/overview?instance=2525789">Keep Calm and Give it Back.</a></strong></p>

How to Avoid Reverse Delegation

<h2><strong>Delegation Mistake #1: Not Delegating Enough</strong></h2>

<p>The number one delegation mistake managers make is not delegating enough. A never-ending to-do list doesn’t just weigh on your mind, the real cost is neglecting your most important priorities.</p>

<p>If you find yourself working long hours - staying late to finish or taking work home with you - then you will know what I am talking about. You’re also not alone.</p>

<p>But often managers hold onto work because of bad past experiences delegating tasks.</p>

<p>The problem is that these negative experiences mean that managers tend to hold on to work instead of delegating them. But bad delegation experiences aren't because of something wrong with the delegation concept. Bad experiences come from bad technique and a lack of practice, not from delegating enough.</p>

<p>Want to delegate more? Improve your delegation skills, until delegating becomes second nature.</p>

<p>Don’t know what to delegate? Download worksheet: How to choose what to delegate.</p>

<h2>Delegation Mistake #2: Not Delegating the Tough Stuff</h2>

<p>We all know the saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” It’s a great pithy saying for managers to commiserate about how bad they think their employees are. But actually it’s a myth. Because great managers know how to use delegation as a management tool to produce better work than they could produce themselves.</p>

<p>Managers are more experienced but:</p>

<ul>
	<li>You aren’t the expert at everything,</li>
	<li>You don’t have the time to give everything the care and attention it deserves and</li>
	<li>Let’s be real, some parts of your job just aren’t that appealing to you</li>
</ul>

<p>When you’ve got :</p>

<ul>
	<li>A tough job on your hands or</li>
	<li>Something that is going to suck up a lot of your time or</li>
	<li>Something that you plain don’t want to do</li>
</ul>

<p>then it’s time to call in some help from your employees.</p>

<h2>Delegation Mistake #3: Thinking Delegation is Good for the Manager but Bad for the Employee</h2>

<p>Less assertive bosses don’t like to delegate because they think their employees won’t like them for giving them extra work. But great bosses know that delegation can be used as a motivational tool.</p>

<p>You see, delegate in the right way and:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Your employees have a chance to learn and grow,</li>
	<li>Your employees get “mini” promotions that increase their status,</li>
	<li>Your employees get a chance to do work that they’re good at,</li>
	<li>Your employees get a chance to build their networks,</li>
	<li>Your employees get a chance to solve problems and more</li>
</ul>

<p>Remember a task that is boring to you, can be an exciting development opportunity for one of your employees. Ethical management means motivating your employees by working on a win-win basis.</p>

<h2>Delegation Mistake #4: Not Avoiding Reverse Delegation</h2>

<p>It happens all the time. An employee runs into a problem that was their responsibility to solve. Instead of trying to come up with a solution to the problem, they come to you for help. Ken Blanchard in his book, “The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey” calls this the moment your employee is attempting to get the monkey off their back and onto yours. (I can’t help but smiling to myself at the mental image this creates.)</p>

<p>How many time has this happened to you? And when the going get’s tough do you fold and take the work back? Reverse delegation is one of the most common delegation mistakes.</p>

<p>Delegation is an investment in the future. To get the results, you need to push through the dip. Instead of taking back the work, better bosses encourage their directs to think problems through themselves. Approach the problem with the mindset that this is a learning opportunity.</p>

<p>Tip: You can use <strong><a href="https://academy.mygo1.com/p/#/app/course/3172699/overview?instance=2525789">Active Listening</a></strong> skills to start coaching your directs to solve their own problems.</p>

<h2>Delegation Mistake #5: Not Following a Best Practice Delegation Process</h2>

<p>When you delegate results will vary. Delegating will go wrong. Sometimes you end up having to pick up the pieces.</p>

<p>Is there something wrong with your employee? Is there something wrong with you? Some people seem to be natural leaders who are great at inspiring others to produce results. Others have to work on it. You see delegating is a manager skill and it’s one of those soft skills they don’t teach you in school. But just like any other skill, it’s possible to learn best practice and get better at it.</p>

<p>The best way to delegation success is to follow a tried and tested delegation process. That’s why it's helpful to use training like this to improve your delegation skills rather than try to find the solutions yourself. It's quicker and more effective than trying to re-invent the wheel yourself.</p>

<h2>Next Steps:</h2>

<p>If delegating was easy then we’d all be doing it, getting great results. But it’s not, managing is hard and they don’t teach you how to delegate in school. Advancing in your career requires that you learn the essential boss skills so you can be a better boss. Delegating is one of these skills. </p>

<p> </p>

5 Delegation Mistakes to Avoid

Top Delegation Mistakes

<p>As a participant of one of our online training programs, you are now eligible to join the Manager Foundation Alumni Community.</p>

<p>Click here to apply to join:</p>

<p><strong><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5070496">https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5070496</a></strong></p>

<p>What you will get includes:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Access to experienced managers to find solutions to your employee performance problems</li>
	<li>A chance to share your own expertise</li>
	<li>A place to find trained managers to recruit</li>
	<li>A place to market your own skills to people who appreciate the value of manager skills</li>
</ul>

Joining the Manager Foundation Alumni Community

CPD (CPE) Continuing Professional Development Credits

<p>I run Boss Camp in classes. You can apply to join the next Boss Camp class over here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.boss.camp/"><strong>WWW.BOSS.CAMP</strong></a></p>

<p>Bonus:</p>

<ol>
	<li>This will also tell you more about Boss Camp and</li>
	<li>As an application bonus, I'm currently giving away one of my simplest but effective "Secret Ninja Manager Skills"</li>
</ol>

<p> </p>

Mistakes to Avoid With Delegation

What you'll learn

Explore more technology skills