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Out of
the Box Coaching and
Breakthroughs with the Enneagram,
Mary R. Bast, Ph.D.
Copyright © 1999. All rights reserved. Revised:
January 08, 2012
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Delegating to Meet High Standards
Two common problems
with delegation:
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Some managers mistakenly assume
assignment is synonymous with delegation. An
assignment
means telling someone what to do, when and how to do it. It's not a growth experience
and carries no real responsibility. It's a way of getting someone else
to do something for you. It's not necessarily wrong to assign something. You
may need help from someone who's happy to take over a
task for you. But
that's not delegation.
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Some managers
go too far in the other direction and assume delegation means handing something over
without any direction or support. This can work beautifully if the
person you've delegated to is experienced in the task area, fully motivated to
accomplish the goals, and has such clear communication with you that no misunderstandings
will occur. All too often, though, handing
something over without discussion or parameters sets up subordinates to
fail, because hidden criteria will only become apparent after many hours
have been spent on the task. This can discourage the subordinate, who's
probably thinking,
Why didn't you tell me that in the first place? It can also be
license for the manager to find fault with what's been done: I knew s/he
couldn't handle that. I should have done it myself!
Delegation is a developmental process.
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Managers who truly delegate
will adjust the degree to
which they provide direction and/or support based on the developmental level of the person
to whom they're delegating.
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It helps to think
of delegation as a contract, defining its terms with the same care to
define you'd take if you were contracting to build a house. You
also want to consider their personality style and development level for
that task. If there are any givens, state them clearly
–
there may be time and/or budget constraints, for example, that aren't
negotiable.
In
Delegating for Results Robert B. Maddux outlines some practical steps:
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Fully and specifically describe
the desired results.
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Discuss, decide together, and
agree on the measurement criteria
and timetables.
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Define all parameters
you know about, including resources and constraints.
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Clarify the level of
authority you're delegating and how this will be communicated to others.
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Most important (because
so many people leave this out of the contract) agree on how progress will be
communicated –
what form it will take and how often:
~Do you want half a paragraph in
an e-mail once a week?
~Do you want only a phone call and only if there are problems
or the person needs resources?
I
have one small bone to pick with Maddux's model. He refers to
situations where the supervisor has such complete confidence, "no further contact
is necessary," including no reporting back of results. I've never seen such a
situation, in part because organizations are so stretched and stressed that only significant work is being done.
If nothing else, your
boss is likely to inquire how it's going, so it's not smart for for you to be
left completely out of the loop.
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