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Part 3 • Motivating
I know it’s done right.” Lisa Flaherty of the Della Femina McNamee advertising agency says, “I have to learn to trust others. Sometimes I’m afraid to delegate the more important projects because I like to stay hands-on.” Although delegation increases a manager’s effectiveness, and when done properly still provides control, several other factors determine whether a manager delegates. The organizational culture tends to be a powerful influence on managers.6 If the organization is characterized by tolerance of risk, support for employees, and a high degree of autonomy for subordinates, managers will feel a great deal more comfortable delegating than they would in a risk-averse, nonsupportive, and high-control culture. Even within a supportive culture, however, managers vary in their propensity to delegate. Research has identified three factors that influence managers in this decision.7 The most important is the manager’s perception of a subordinate’s competence. Managers consistently appear reluctant to delegate if they question their subordinates’ capability, trustworthiness, or motivation to assume greater responsibility. The second factor is the importance of the decision. Managers tend to delegate the less important decisions. The third factor is the manager’s workload. Heavy workloads put stress and time pressures on managers, which lead to more delegation of authority. This research also found that the manager’s personality plays a relatively minor part in influencing the delegation decision. That is, an individual’s personal predisposition toward subordinates is not a key factor. The important implication of these findings for developing your delegation skills is that effective managers put delegation into context. For example, even if the organizational culture supports delegation and a manager strongly believes in its value, managers are not likely to delegate if they don’t feel that subordinates have the necessary ability and motivation. Delegation Skills A number of actions differentiate the effective from the ineffective delegator. The following sections summarize these actions.8 1. Clarify the assignment. The place to begin is to determine what is to be delegated and to whom. You need to identify the person most capable of doing the task and then determine whether that person has the time and motivation to do the job. Assuming you have a willing and able subordinate, it is your responsibility to provide clear information on what is being delegated, the results you expect, and any time or performance expectations you hold. Unless there is an overriding need to adhere to specific methods, you should delegate only the end results; that is, find agreement on what is to be done and the end results expected, but let the subordinate decide on the means. By focusing on goals and allowing employees the freedom to use their own judgment about how those goals are to be achieved, you increase the trust between you and the employee, improve that employee’s motivation, and enhance accountability for the results. 2. Specify the subordinate’s range of discretion. Every act of delegation comes with constraints. You’re delegating authority to act, but not unlimited authority. What you’re delegating is authority to act on certain issues and within certain parameters pertaining to those issues. You need to specify what those parameters are so that subordinates know, in no uncertain terms, the range of their discretion. When this has been communicated successfully, you and the subordinate will have the same idea of the limits to the latter’s authority and how far that person can go without checking further with you.
