Effective Delegating Achieves Results

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the April 2004 issue of Leadership Tips, an e-mail bulletin formerly sent to STC leaders by the STC Leadership Tips Committee. The author has updated it for Tieline.

I recently presented a program on delegating more effectively. In it, I explained the benefits of delegation and gave tips on how to overcome common barriers. Because you can use these tips whether you are leading a community, committee, team, or department, I want to share them with you. If you are not delegating properly, you are making your own life more difficult. In turn, your subordinates suffer because their interests and talents are being overlooked, however unintentionally.

Benefits of Delegating

There are many benefits to be derived from effective delegating; one of the most important is that it frees your time and energy for other responsibilities. We could all use more time. Bringing more hands and minds to bear on issues also results in better decision making.

Something else to consider is that by delegating tasks to others, you utilize the skills of individuals and improve overall team productivity. This, in turn, allows others to make contributions that develop their self-confidence. Overall, effective delegating can add to your organization’s success by supporting higher productivity, improved morale, better communication and teamwork, and greater profitability.

Studies indicate that most people want more responsibility, and they want the opportunity to grow and develop. As you share opportunities with others, those individuals become more productive and valuable to the organization and team. By learning new things, they improve their self-esteem and skills. They also become more knowledgeable and skilled in handling project details and problems.

Barriers We Create

We sometimes create our own barriers to delegating. For example, we may prefer to do the work ourselves, or think no one else can do it as well as us. Or we may feel a strong need to work at tasks with which we are familiar, or feel threatened by the possibility that someone else might not complete a task for which we are responsible. There is also the fear of losing power, until we realize that we actually empower others by delegating.

A huge barrier can be created when we delegate without planning ahead or considering all aspects of the task. When delegating a job to someone, it is very important to set deadlines, explain the task’s objectives, and make sure the person has the authority, resources, and budget to complete the task on time.

Another barrier is made when we underestimate the ability of others to do more. Make sure you judge others by their standards, not by what you would be able to accomplish. If you think someone can’t get the job done because he is already doing something else, you may be selling him short. You may need to better evaluate the person’s organizational skills and habits. What motivates him? Is the task you want to delegate something he really enjoys doing? If so, he might be able to finish it quickly. You may never know unless you give him the opportunity. There is a fine line between thinking he can step up to another task and overburdening him with one more responsibility.

Barriers Others Create

The people to whom you delegate create barriers, too. These hurdles are so prevalent that their causes have names:

Imposition. Since leaders look to their best people for help, they can rely on the same people so much that it becomes an imposition.
Ignorance. You may need to point out how completing a particular task could help someone attain a personal goal.
Stagnation. Some people just don’t want to change; they’re in their own niche and want to stay there. They are the “good soldiers” who do what they have to—as long as they’re out of the limelight, away from public notice, and performing jobs that can be done quickly and safely.
Fear. Some people reject new tasks out of fear. You may have to offer training or mentoring before they will accept a project.
Eagerness. Although you don’t want to stifle enthusiasm, be aware of the problems created by too much of it. People eager to take on additional projects can become overloaded. Just as you need the good soldiers, you also need the eager beavers—but you may have to move them along more slowly, even while nurturing their enthusiasm.
Power playing. Some people accept a delegated task only when there is something they want in return, such as a raise. Power players should be carefully monitored and controlled.

The Effective Use of Human Resources

To summarize, delegation is the effective use of human resources. You must know when to back away from competent people and when to intervene if things start to go wrong. Take the time now to delegate more effectively so you can make your life and the lives of those around you easier. They will appreciate you for it.

Suzanna served as the 2005–06 Society President and as a Region 5 Director-Sponsor. In 2006, she was selected as the first Leadership Community Resource (LCR) volunteer of the year. Since 1995, she has presented more than a hundred chapter programs, leadership workshops, keynote addresses, and conference sessions from Toronto to Hawaii.

Suzanna has been a technical communicator since earning her degree in 1986. More than half the years since have been spent developing various types of online help. Her favorite writing job is designing and writing the newsletters for which she has won numerous awards. Suzanna is President of the Communications Design Group in Mustang, Oklahoma.

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