LEADERSHIP & NAVIGATION

Delegating Authority

August 2016
Introduction
“Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.”
—Robert Half, American Businessman

Successful managers with varying years of experience and at all levels of

management recognize the accuracy of this statement.
Faced with demanding workloads, they delegate authority to their
employees.

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Introduction (cont.)
Successful managers work diligently to make sure that their employees are
capable of handling increased responsibility and duties and that they do so
successfully.
Effective delegation results in better-trained employees, increased
productivity, more motivated staff and improved retention.
This presentation provides you with information to help you delegate
authority successfully.

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Agenda
1. Definition of delegation
2. Reasons for delegating
3. Key steps for successful delegation
4. What can and cannot be delegated
5. Levels of delegation and examples of each
6. Reasons delegation fails

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Definition of Delegation
Delegation is the process of assigning tasks or projects to subordinates and
clearly dictating expected outcomes and time frames for completion.
It must be accompanied by the commitment of subordinates to complete the
tasks or projects.
A manager may designate work to subordinates, but he or she is ultimately
responsible and accountable for the work being completed successfully.

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Reasons for Delegating
Effective delegation saves management time. It results in better-trained
employees, increased productivity, more motivated staff and improved
retention.
To have work accomplished successfully and efficiently by subordinates,
managers must be sure that employees:
• Know what the manager wants.
• Have the appropriate authority.
• Know how to perform the work.

Managers must devote significant amounts of time and energy to be sure

employees succeed when the purpose of delegating is to provide career
development.

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Reasons for Delegating (cont.)
Reasons managers delegate:
• To accomplish more as a team.
• To free up managers’ time for more strategic, high-level initiatives and
meetings.
• To cross-train workers so they can back up co-workers and managers
when they are out of the office.
• To provide employees valuable experience, knowledge and an
opportunity for professional growth.

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Questions? Comments?

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Key Steps for Successful
Delegation
For successful delegation, managers need to:
1. Define the task. Confirm that the task is suitable for delegating. Does it
meet the criteria for successful delegation?
2. Select the individual. What are the reasons for selecting this employee?
As part of the selection process, determine how both the employee and
you will benefit.
3. Assess ability and training needs. Does the person identified have the
skill sets required to be successful? Can he or she grasp what needs to
be done? If not, you cannot proceed.

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Key Steps for Successful
Delegation (cont.)
4. State required results. What is the deliverable expected to look like?
What must be achieved and when? How will the task be measured? Tell
the employee upfront how you will determine his or her level or degree of
success.
5. Identify required resources. Discuss and agree on resources required to
complete the job. All relevant resources should be taken into
consideration, including staffing, physical space, equipment, materials,
inventory, storage, and other related activities and services.

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Key Steps for Successful
Delegation (cont.)
6. Explain why. Put the task or responsibility into context and explain the
reason it is being delegated. Talk about why the employee is given this
task and where it fits in the overall scheme of things.
7. Agree on a schedule. Establish action plan milestones and review dates
for routine progress evaluation and feedback. Failure to agree on such a
schedule in advance will cause the review process to be viewed as
interference or a lack of trust instead of management practice.

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Key Steps for Successful
Delegation (cont.)
8. Support and communicate. As part of the communication and support
process, alert the employee to any unusual matters of politics or protocol
within the organization of which he or she should be cognizant. Inform
your own manager and your peers of a new assignment to a direct report
if the task assigned is one of high visibility and warrants this level of
support and introduction.
9. Provide timely feedback on results. Recognize and applaud the
employee assigned the project for successes. By the same token,
analyze failures so that the reason(s) can be turned into opportunities for
learning and risk avoidance.

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Key Steps for Successful
Delegation (cont.)
10. Repeat the process. This step involves repeating the cycle but with a
renewed sense of vigor and commitment. Each time a project is
completed, the manager should attempt to engage the employee in a
task that is incrementally more challenging than the previous one.

Source: Adapted, in part, from Manager's toolkit: The 13 skills managers need to succeed (Harvard Business
Essentials). (2004). Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, p. 67.

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Questions? Comments?

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What Can and Cannot Be
Delegated
Managers may delegate whenever they need something done by their
employees and it is appropriate for their employees to complete the task or
project.
Consider for delegation:
Any activity you used to do before being promoted to management and if
you have an employee reporting to you who can do this activity now.

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What Can and Cannot Be
Delegated (cont.)
Consider for delegation:
• Tasks in which your employees have more experience than you.
• Making decisions on matters that are especially important to your
employees, such as rest and meal periods or corporate team-building
activities and meetings.

Managers may not appropriately delegate certain responsibilities and duties,

such as performance reviews, employee discipline and strategic planning.

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Questions? Comments?

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Levels of Delegation and Examples
Examples of levels of delegation from lowest to highest:
• No delegation whatsoever.
o Examples: “Do only exactly what I tell you to do” or “Wait for me to
give you instructions.”
• Delegation from a manager who retains responsibility for reviewing
options before making a decision.
o Examples: “Check into this and tell me what you find, and then I’ll
make a decision” or “Look into this and give me your ideas or
recommendations, and we’ll make a decision together.”

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Levels of Delegation and Examples
(cont.)
• Delegating that gives the employee more control.
o Example: “Decide what needs to be done, and give me your
decision and plan to go ahead unless I object.”
• Delegation that saves time but also allows follow-up by the manager.
o Example: “Decide what needs to be done and do it, and just let me
know of your decision and the results.”

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Levels of Delegation and Examples
(cont.)
Examples of levels of delegation from highest to lowest:
• The highest delegation in which the manager retains responsibility.
o Example: “You decide and do what needs to be done. You do not
need to check back with me on this.”
• The highest level of delegation and not generally used without an official
change in the person’s job description and title.
o Example: “Decide what to do and manage the situation. It is your
responsibility from now on.”

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Questions? Discussion?

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Reasons Delegation Fails
The main reasons delegation fails:
• Lack of CEO support. The CEO must not only recognize the importance
of delegation and support it but also be willing to delegate to members of
top management.
• Failure to plan. Managers often think it is easier to do work themselves
instead of taking the time to review all their activities and determine which
ones they could delegate to save their time and to help employees learn
and develop.

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Reasons Delegation Fails (cont.)
• Lack of communication. Managers must take time to discuss their
expectations with the employee, explain the importance of the delegated
activity and share information that will help the employee succeed with
the new task or project.
• Fear of relinquishing control. Even good managers may fear losing
control of their work, having a poor result from delegating, or being
threatened or replaced by a subordinate.
In the words of Ronald Regan, “Surround yourself with the best people you
can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve
decided upon is being carried out.”

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Questions? Comments?

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Summary
Delegation is the process of assigning tasks or projects to subordinates and
clearly dictating expected outcomes and a time frame for completion.
Delegation must be accompanied by the commitment of subordinates to
complete the tasks or projects.
Effective delegation saves management time and results in better-trained
employees, increased productivity, more motivated staff and improved
retention. Managers delegate to have work done by subordinates and to
provide employee development.

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Summary (cont.)
Key steps for successful delegation include defining the task, selecting the
individual, explaining the reasons, stating required results, identifying
required resources, assessing ability and training needs, agreeing on a
schedule, providing support and communication, providing feedback on
results, and repeating the process.
Managers may delegate when it is appropriate for their employees to
complete a task or project, but they cannot delegate activities only they must
complete, such as performance appraisals or disciplinary action.

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Summary (cont.)
Levels of delegation extend from no delegation whatsoever, when the
manager tells an employee precisely what and how to work, to full
delegation, when the manager gives an employee total control over a project
and revises the employee’s job description and/or title.
Delegation fails because of lack of CEO support, failure to plan, lack of
communication and fear of losing control.

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Questions? Comments?

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Training Evaluation
Please be sure to complete the evaluation sheet you received with your
handouts.
I thank you for your interest and attention!

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