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A fundamental part of effective delegation is to step back from the details. Many
managers are poor delegators because they get too involved with technical details. If a
manager cannot let go of details, he or she will never be effective at delegation or
empowerment. Finally, as in virtually all leadership endeavors, it is important to evaluate
and reward performance. After the task is completed, the manager should evaluate the
outcome. Favorable outcomes should be rewarded, and unfavorable outcomes may either
be not rewarded or punished. It is important, however, not to discourage risk taking and
initiative by punishing for all mistakes. [1]
Delegation contributes to the practice of leadership because it is an excellent
opportunity to coach the person accepting the delegated tasks. The assignment should be
challenging enough to stretch the group member to acquire new skills. In the process of
skill development, the group member might also benefit from a few constructive
suggestions.
Keith McCluskey is the president of a Chevrolet and Auto Nation USA franchise in
Cincinnati, Ohio. His company won an award for being the number 1 seller in the world
of medium-duty trucks. He offers the following comments about delegation, which
support many of the points made here about empowerment and delegation:
I assign a task or mission to a manager, explain briefly its importance and
how it fits into a master plan at the dealership. We set a deadline for completion. It frees
my time up to do something more important. When you move the project along to
somebody else, his or her confidence grows, and there is a good chance that he or she
will do it at least as well and probably better than I would have completed the task. If you
move enough of the tasks on, you can think about the vision of the company and growing
the revenue. [2]
A rule of thumb for delegating effectively is the 80-20 rule, according Charles
Lobitz, an executive who works with executives. If they can do the job at 80% of what
you can, youve freed up your time. The key is to stop believing it has to be done as well.
Being perfect isnt being successful.[3] The reader is cautioned that some tasks do have
to be performed perfectly such as calculating taxes owed, earnings per share, and
producing pacemakers.
[1]
Several of the ideas in this section are based on David A. Whetton and Kim S.
Cameron, Developing Management Skills, 5th ed. (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002), pp. 431425; Odette Pollar, Delegation of Duties is the Key to Growth in the Workplace, The Pryor Report, July
1998, p. 10; Tom Sawyer at Work: The Art of Delegation, www.employer-employee.com; Sharon Gadza,
The Art of Delegating, HR Magazine, January 2002, pp. 75-77.
[2]
[3]
Kayleen Schaefer, Helping Manager Delegate Tasks Starts with Becoming Generalist, The Wall Street
Journal, June 26, 2006, B11.