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“
Surround yourself with the best
people you can find, delegate authority,
and don’t interfere as long as the policy you
have decided upon is being carried out.
”
~ Ronald Reagan
A major challenge that managers face
today is effective management of time
and consequently the ability to think out
of the box and find creative business
solutions. Delegation can ease a
manager’s load of work and leave
him/her free to invest time in more
qualitative and innovative work.
Effective delegation also helps juniors in
the company to learn and be emerging
leaders for the next generation.
While the benefits of delegation are far
reaching, managers often find it very
challenging. “
The most common Catch-22
we hear from managers is that they can’t
delegate because their people are not good
enough; they can’t do the work…
” writes
Lombardo and Eichinger in their book
For Your Improvement. They list the
following causes why managers fail to
delegate successfully:
Delegate but don’t follow
Delegate by throwing tasks at
people
Delegate little pieces
Don’t develop your people
Hoard most things to self
Not plan work
Not trust others
Overmanage people
Too busy
Too controlling
Some key ways to avoid the above to
become good at delegating are:
Informing
How do you set the pace to ensure that
the task in hand is done well by another
person? The right person, clear
instructions and guidelines, definite
targets and timeline can help a manager
to accomplish the work satisfactorily.
Identify the person:
Different
people have different strengths and
interests and a good manager
identifies and acknowledges these
strengths and interests. Linking the
right person to the task to be
completed is a first step for effective
delegation.
Explain the task:
The identified
person needs to fully understand
and appreciate the work given to
him/her. The key role of the
manager here is to adequately
explain the work to be completed.
Remember that he/she may be new
to the task and may need time to
understand it. Never lecture; let it be
a two-way process of talking, where
you give the person the chance to
ask questions and clarify doubts.
Set targets and time:
To avoid
ambiguity on how and when the
task can be effectively completed,
always set targets and timelines that
are mutually agreed upon between
you and the delegatee.
Follow-up:
In order to ensure that
the message has been received
Delegation
~ Raj Kamal Phukan
Guwahati Office
Raj Kamal Phukan is
based in the Company’s
Guwahati office where he
manages the centralized
staff recruitment for
Assam estates, provides
legal support, handles all
land related issues and is
involved in the
recruitment and training
of executives. In his spare
time, he reads, and goes
hiking and trekking. He
is a keen birder and bird
photographer and has
contributed photographs
to several Indian and
international
publications.
42 July 2016