The Art of Delegation II, Barriers and Pitfalls - [website] Published: 25th of Jul 2011 by: Smart Alec
In our first article on delegation we discussed the importance of delegation and how to choose the best person for the task that needs doing...
... now we are going to look at why many managers fail to delegate or delegate poorly when they do.
There are many challenges facing managers when it comes to delegation, otherwise known as barriers to delegation, but they aren’t always what managers would have you believe.
Reasons cited for not delegating more include, “My employees resist responsibility,” “My employees lack experience and confidence,” “My employees won’t like me if I expect too much of them,” and “If you want something done right you’ve got to do it yourself.”
Directory Journal says that while managers give the above reasons for not delegating more, the real reasons are often found in the following list:
• What if the other person messes up the task; I am still accountable.
• If someone else can do my job, maybe I won’t be needed anymore.
• I am the manager; I am supposed to have full control over everything.
• I’m comfortable doing the job I’ve been doing for a long time. If I give that up, then I have to concentrate on the responsibilities of my new job which I am not comfortable with.
To learn to delegate more and (more effectively) managers will need to examine themselves and determine the real reasons for not delegating enough in the first place, accepting that the biggest barrier to delegation is usually themselves.
Sometimes, however, barriers to delegation can exist among staff as well, for reasons ranging from a lack of appreciation for previous jobs done, not having the skills or experience for the job, feeling like the job is being imposed on them and the fear of criticism should the job not be done exactly as the manager expects.
Managers in fact often contribute to the negativity surrounding delegation and employee resistance can be greatly reduced by managers learning to delegate correctly.
Learning to correctly delegate and the process that’s involved can also help avoid many of the pitfalls that are encountered when delegating, including reverse delegation and dumping.
Reverse delegation, also known as upward delegation, is where employees, not exactly sure of how to do the work they’ve been delegated, come back to the manager asking questions. At this point many managers will take back the task and complete it themselves instead of making the delegatee find the answers on his/her own. This should not be done; instead the delegatee should be coached on how to finish the task with the resources they’ve been given.
Some staff may also feel as though the manager is just dumping work on them, leading to low morale and a low quality of work. Managers should make it clear what the benefits to the employee are and ensure the delegatee is satisfied with the reasoning.
Lastly, managers should be very careful to avoid stealing all the glory when tasks are completed successfully. Credit should be given where credit is due and not stolen away from those who did the actual work. Then the manager should pat him or herself on the back for being such a good delegator.
All that remains now is the actual process of delegation, which we will look at in our next post.
