The purpose of this section is to give you the following:
Delegation is the assignment of responsibilities to another person for the purpose of carrying out specific job-related activities. Delegation is a shift of decision-making authority from one team member to another.
Before further diving into delegation, it's important for you as a leader to consider whether delegation is the right thing to do. In this Situational Leadership Strategy article, GitLab's co-founder and CEO Sid Sijbrandij gives an overview of 4 leadership styles discussed in Situational Leadership Theory and the factors he considers when determining whether to delegate.
Manager/Leader Benefits
Team Member Benefits
GitLab Benefits
As a Manager, we have to delegate tasks and activities to achieve results. Delegation only works when both the team member and manager share a common understanding of the problem set and how to go about solving them. If a Manager doesn't understand fully what they are delegating, achieving results could be slowed down. Delegation without follow-through by the manager is abandonment. When delegating tasks, consider monitoring the team member's progress based on their level of competence/skills with the tasks.
Additional reasons why managers struggle with delegation:
Knowing when and to whom you should delegate to
Delegating can be especially helpful in the following situations:
When deciding who to select for the task, you must consider:
IDEAL - Six steps of delegations. In this section we will review the 6 different steps and approaches for enhancing your delegation skills.
I - Introduce the task D - Demonstrate clearly what needs to be done E - Ensure understanding A - Allocate authority, information and resources L - Let go S - Support and monitor
Introduce the task
When you introduce the task use "What-Why" statements like "I want you to do … because you …"
Demonstrate Clearly
Ensuring Understanding
Allocate authority, information and resources
Let go
Support and Monitor
"Why do Managers…?"
Delegation Obstacles
Signs of Micromanagement
Micromanaging occurs when a manager assigns a task to a team member, but prevents the team member from successfully completing the task on their own. Micromanagers usually:
How to avoid Micromanagement
Consequences of poor delegation
Conclusion
Practice makes perfect. It gets easier the more you do it! Below are a few useful articles for managers regarding the importance of delegation.
Books to consider reading