Has this ever happened to you?
You decided to delegate an important task to a
subordinate. Perhaps your first
inclination was to do it yourself. But
then you remembered that leaders need to develop their people, and one
important way to do so is to give them assignments that will stretch them. Assignments that make them think. Assignments that are not easy, are contain
some risk. And so, with a small amount
of trepidation and unease, you called Fred, one of your more talented and
experience people, into your office. And handed an important task over to him.
Now, of course, you didn’t simply hand him a folder and say
“Go for it!” No, you applied all that
touchy-feely stuff you learned in your last management charm school about
buttering people up and making them feel good about themselves so that they
actually do what you want them to do. So
you started by expressing your confidence in Fred’s intelligence and
experience, and, ultimately, his capability to figure out what needed to be
done and do it. And complete everything
in a week’s time. So far, great.
But, of course, the story doesn't end there. In less than three days, Fred’s back in your
office. And he’s all smiles. He’s certain that you’re going to be
overjoyed with the results of this little project. Problem is, the report he gives you has no
semblance to what you expected. In fact,
it’s way off base. So you tell him
what’s wrong, and give him a few more guidelines. And a few more expressions of your confidence
in his abilities. The good news is that
Fred still has two days to meet the original deadline, and you’re both pretty
certain that this little course correction will do the trick.
Forty-eight hours later, once again, you and Fred are in
your office going over the project report.
This new report is a bit closer to what you need. Unfortunately, it’s still not usable, and now
you’re out of time. You’re
frustrated. Fred’s frustrated. You take the work home and stay up most of
the night ripping it apart and re-doing it.
Finally, you’re okay with the finished product. But you’re not okay with Fred. And he’s pretty unhappy with you.
What happened?
Unfortunately, what happened is quite common. You did not:
·
Envision and communicate the desired outcome
clearly
·
Determine your subordinate’s ability and
willingness to perform the task
·
Utilize the appropriate leadership style based
upon your subordinate’s ability and willingness to perform this specific task
Each of these three steps is essential for effective
delegation.
Envision and Communicate the Desired Outcome Clearly
I’ll never forget working as an Education Manager for IBM in
Dallas. In IBM, we had interesting but
confusing job titles. Whenever I met
someone in an IBM office, they asked me what I did. After a while, I gave up on reciting my
title. I simply told people the name of my
most famous trainer. “Ah hah!” everyone would say. “So you’re Charlie’s boss!” And that, in essence, was my job. Charlie had been in his role for years, and
would be there long after I was promoted and moved on.
It took me a while to catch on to this. After all, I was a manager and I thought I knew
best. So one day I called Charlie into
my office and explained in detail what I wanted him to do on a particular
project. He looked me straight in the eye
and said, “Look, Sheila, if you tell me what to do and how to do it, if it
doesn’t work, it’s going to be your fault.
But if you tell me what results you want, and allow me to do it my way,
if it doesn’t work it’s going to be my fault.”
After I recovered from his directness, I took a deep breath and say,
“Okay.” And we proceed to discuss the
results and how we would measure success.
You see, Charlie caught me.
I hadn’t actually considered what I wanted. I was only focused on how I wanted it done. Amazing how often that happens.
Now of course, if you’re dealing with a subordinate who is
inexperienced, you may need to define the desired outcome and then teach them a
process to achieve that outcome. Which
leads to the next essential step for effective delegation.
Determine your Subordinate’s Ability and Willingness to Perform the Task
When managers consider a subordinate’s ability to perform,
they most often evaluate their ability to perform their job. The requirement here is to focus more
narrowly. Rather than determining
overall job performance, effective delegation requires determining the ability
to perform the specific task at hand.
For example, a highly successful engineer might be
well-suited to perform almost any task that requires data gathering and
analysis. But when asked to mentor a new
engineer, they could be totally at sea.
The task of mentoring is very different from data gathering and
analysis. A savvy manager will recognize that their expert engineer could be a
complete neophyte when it comes to mentoring.
To further complicate matters, the engineer may not want to
be a mentor. They might not be willing
to perform the assigned task. Nine times out of ten, a subordinate will not
tell their manager that they don’t want to do something. Instead, they couch their unwillingness as a
lack of ability, time or resources. And
there’s no simple litmus test to distinguish willingness issues from ability
issues. Managers need to be aware that
both may be present, and carefully probe to determine what’s actually going
on. Remember, if someone is not willing
to perform, no amount of training will motivate them. Training can address ability issues, but not
willingness issues.
Utilize the Appropriate Leadership Style
Once you have a handle your subordinate’s level of
ability and willingness to perform the task at hand, you can utilize the
appropriate leadership style. Hershey
and Blanchard, in their book “Situational Leadership”, explain four different
leadership styles and their appropriate application.
·
Telling Style – giving specific task directions
and closely supervising work
·
Selling Style – explaining task directions in a
supporting and persuasive way
·
Coaching Style – emphasizing shared ideas and
participative decisions
·
Delegating Style – allowing the follower to take
responsibility for task decisions
When tackling something new, a subordinate is typically
unable to perform the task. When the
subordinate is unable to perform, the manager’s most appropriate styles are
Telling and Selling. Over time, as the
subordinate build their ability to perform a task, the manager will switch to
the more appropriate styles of Coaching and Delegating.
An example can be helpful to illustrate the progression
through these styles. When you teach a
child to ride a two-wheeled bicycle for the first time, you start out by telling them what to do. “Put your feet on the pedals. Put your hands on the handle bars.” And you
might help them place their hands and feet in the right place. You hold onto them and give them
instructions. “Look straight ahead.
Begin pedaling.” Note than your
communication is all about the task. All
about what to do.
As the child learns to pedal and begins moving, you might
begin explaining why. By selling them on the right behavior. “Okay. Keep your head up, that way you won’t fall
over. And keep your weight centered so
that you’ll go straight. When you turn
the handlebars to the right, the bicycle will turn to the right. Lean into the turn so that you keep your
balance.” In the selling mode there’s a
lot more communication. And it’s much
more about them, than about the bicycle itself.
More about supporting them in their learning. And you continue to hold
onto them. They’re not able to operate
on their own yet.
Then comes the magical moment when you let go! When they cross from unable to able. This can be really scary. Now that you are no longer physically supporting
them, it’s critical to verbally support them. Lots of feedback. And constructive coaching. “Lookin’ good!
That’s right, keep facing straight ahead. Oh, no – don’t look at me! You’re getting it. How do you feel? Is this fun? What would you like to try next?”
Finally, the new bicyclist is ready to take over. And you begin delegating. “Looks like you’re
ready to bicycle on your own! Go for it!
You have my permission to ride during daylight hours in our
neighborhood. Have a great time!”
Everyone Has Their Favorite Styles
For some managers, delegation
can’t come too quickly. They have no
patience for selling or coaching They start out telling, with step-by-step details, and
then leap to delegating prematurely.
Other managers enjoy the relationship aspect of selling and coaching, and hate the other styles. They want to be involved and work together. Unfortunately, their subordinates can be lost
when they need the clear, specific directions of the telling style. And their
subordinates become irritated when they want be left alone, and their manager
never fully lets go and delegates.
So, here’s your challenge. Instead of choosing your favorite style,
choose the most appropriate style.
Understand your subordinate’s ability and willingness to perform
specific tasks. Be prepared to explain
the desired outcome and enable them to grow.
Enabling others to learn and contribute is the mark of a great leader.
