DELEGATING MANAGEMENT TASKS

(Five Pages)

What is the Difference Between Management and Leadership?

Adapted from “The Wall Street Journal Guide to Management” by Alan Murray, published by Harper Business.

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing. But they are necessarily linked, and complementary. Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

Still, much ink has been spent delineating the differences. The manager’s job is to plan, organize and coordinate. The leader’s job is to inspire and motivate. In his 1989 book “On Becoming a Leader,” Warren Bennis composed a list of the differences:

– The manager administers; the leader innovates.

– The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

– The manager maintains; the leader develops.

– The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

– The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

– The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

– The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

– The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.

– The manager imitates; the leader originates.

– The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

– The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his or her own person.

– The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Perhaps there was a time when the calling of the manager and that of the leader could be separated. A foreman in an industrial-era factory probably didn’t have to give much thought to what he was producing or to the people who were producing it. His or her job was to follow orders, organize the work, assign the right people to the necessary tasks, coordinate the results, and ensure the job got done as ordered. The focus was on efficiency.

But in the new economy, where value comes increasingly from the knowledge of people, and where workers are no longer undifferentiated cogs in an industrial machine, management and leadership are not easily separated. People look to their managers, not just to assign them a task, but to define for them a purpose. And managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.

The late management guru Peter Drucker was one of the first to recognize this truth, as he was to recognize so many other management truths. He identified the emergence of the “knowledge worker,” and the profound differences that would cause in the way business was organized.

With the rise of the knowledge worker, “one does not ‘manage’ people,” Mr. Drucker wrote. “The task is to lead people. And the goal is to make productive the specific strengths and knowledge of every individual.”

Tips

  • Leadership and management must go hand in hand.
  • Workers need their managers not just to assign tasks but to define purpose.
  • Managers must organize workers, not just to maximize efficiency, but to nurture skills, develop talent and inspire results.
  • Management tasks may be delegated to others.
  • Leadership tasks may NOT be delegated to others.

Leadership vs. ManagementSummary

This table provides a summary and gives a sense of the differences between being a leader and being a manager. This is, of course, an illustrative characterization, and there is a whole spectrum between either ends of these scales along which each role can range. People typically lead and manage at the same time, and so may display a combination of behaviors.

Subject / Leader / Manager
Essence / Change / Stability
Focus / Leading people / Managing work
Have / Followers / Subordinates
Horizon / Long-term / Short-term
Seeks / Vision / Objectives
Approach / Sets direction / Plans detail
Decision / Facilitates / Makes
Power / Personal charisma / Formal authority
Appeal to / Heart / Head
Energy / Passion / Control
Culture / Shapes / Enacts
Dynamic / Proactive / Reactive
Persuasion / Sell / Tell
Style / Transformational / Transactional
Exchange / Excitement for work / Money for work
Likes / Striving / Action
Wants / Achievement / Results
Risk / Takes / Minimizes
Rules / Breaks / Makes
Conflict / Uses / Avoids
Direction / New roads / Existing roads
Truth / Seeks / Establishes
Concern / What is right / Being right
Credit / Gives / Takes
Blame / Takes / Blames

Delegating authority skills, tasks & the process of effective delegation

Delegation is one of the most important management skills. These logical rules and techniques will help you to delegate well (and will help you to help your manager when you are being delegated a task or new responsibility - delegation is a two-way process!). Good delegation saves you time, develops you people, grooms a successor, and motivates. Poor delegation will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. So it's a management skill that's worth improving. Here are the simple steps to follow if you want to get delegation right, with different levels of delegation freedom that you can offer.

This delegation skills guide deals with general delegation principles and process, which is applicable to individuals and teams, or to specially formed groups of people for individual projects (including 'virtual teams').

Delegation is a very helpful aid for succession planning, personal development - and seeking and encouraging promotion. It's how we grow in the job - delegation enables us to gain experience to take on higher responsibilities.

Delegation is vital for effective management.

Delegation can be used to develop your people and yourself - delegation is not just a management technique for freeing up the boss's time. Of course there is a right way to do it. These delegation tips and techniques are useful for bosses - and for anyone seeking or being given delegated responsibilities.

As a giver of delegated tasks you must ensure delegation happens properly. Just as significantly, as the recipient of delegated tasks you have the opportunity to 'manage upwards' and suggest improvements to the delegation process and understanding - especially if your boss could use the help.

Managing the way you receive and agree to do delegated tasks is one of the central skills of 'managing upwards'. Therefore while this page is essentially written from the manager's standpoint, the principles are just as useful for people being managed. A simple delegation rule is the SMART acronym. It's a quick checklist for proper delegation.

Delegated tasks must be:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Agreed-upon
  • Realistic
  • Time-bound

9 Steps of successful delegation

  1. Define the task - Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. Does it meet the criteria for delegating?
  2. Select the individual or team - What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it?
  3. Assess ability and training needs - Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? Do they understand what needs to be done. If not, you can't delegate.
  4. Explain the reasons - You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated. And why to that person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things?
  5. State required results - What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done.
  6. Consider resources required - Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services.
  7. Agree deadlines - When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? When are the reports due? And if the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities? At this point you may need to confirm understanding with the other person of the previous points, getting ideas and interpretation. As well as showing you that the job can be done, this helps to reinforce commitment. Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing to agree this in advance will cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust.
  8. Support and communicate - Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of politics or protocol. Inform your own boss if the task is important, and of sufficient profile.
  9. Feedback on results - It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success.

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE – (From Video: Best ways for the successful delegation of work!)

5 Steps for Effective Delegation

  • Clarify the Result (State goal, establish measures of quality & “begin with the end in mind”)
  • Select the Right Person (capacity & willing)
  • Clarify the Expectations (Who does What by When, Expected Results, Parameters/Flexibility )
  • Check Progress (establish checkpoints)
  • Inspect (measure quality) and Be Accountable

Consider:

  • What’s in it for me? I want the best results
  • What’s in it for him/her?He/She wants an opportunity to prove” knowledge & skill.

Delegation – Things to Consider

What to delegate?

  • Management (not leadership)
  • Routine (task you know & can teach to others)
  • Specialties (find a specialist)
  • Occupational hobbies (easy & enjoyable)

What not to delegate?

  • Organizational rituals (your presence is appropriate/expected)
  • Personnel and other confidential matters (keep it private)
  • Policy-making decisions (boss determines policy)
  • Crisis (be present & be the leader)

YOU CAN DELEGATE THE WORK

YOU CANNOT DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RESULTS

Considerations in Planning for Delegation

  • List your jobs (expected results, sub-tasks, etc)
  • Estimate your time expended on each
  • List the details of each job/sub-task and describe instructions to be given for another person to complete
  • List 1-3 potential delegates
  • Attributes & work-style of each potential delegate
  • Opportunity for developing subordinate’s skills, knowledge, and/or confidence

Considerations for the Delegation Conference

  • State the desired goal & articulate expected results
  • Establish a timeline (Who does What by When)
  • Agree-upon the authority (clarify your involvement in the process and his/her decision-making authority)
  • Establish agreed-upon accountability & check points
  • Ask and obtain acceptance from delegate (must say YES)

Considerations for Monitoring Delegation

  • Calendar the timeline & check points
  • Establish dates/time for discussing progress (with agenda)
  • Calendar time for weekly reflection about the job/task and tracking progress
  • Keep all notes & agenda in a “tickler file”

GIVE YOUR SUBORDINATES CREDIT FOR SUCCESS