Getting your delegation “just right” is no easy task.
Giving some team members “too much” authority can be just as disastrous as “too little” authority. It all depends on what you are delegating and the skill and experience level of the person you’re delegating to.
I’ve seen managers of new graduates, thinking they are empowering their young fledglings by allowing them to “work it out for themselves”. Sounds good on paper, yet it can often scare the crap out of a new hire whose catch cry is often:
“Tell me what you want me to do, tell me what I can’t do. Show me the ropes.”
(Specify the boundaries)
Go to the other extreme and you get team members completely disengaged because they feel they are being treated like total newbies. The task is over specified, over-managed, and under-trusted.
What’s the answer Goldilocks?
The answer is all about clarity around different levels of authority.
But first of all, some definitions that could help. This is how we define delegation at the human enterprise:
Delegation – The assignment of accountability (within a defined envelope of authority) to a person with appropriate responsibility.
Huh?
Ok, so these next three definitions will help:
Account/ability – The ability to account for the outcome. Your commitment to do your bit for the whole.
Response/ability – The ability to “respond” – response/ability (You have the skills and bandwidth)
Authority – The boundaries or envelope in which the task is to be completed.
So authority is really the boundaries or the envelope in which you agree your team member can operate. It’s a bit like a pilot that has to keep the plane at a certain altitude and fly between certain longitudes and latitudes to be safe. But within that envelope can make their own decisions. Go outside it and “Houston, we have a problem!”
In other words, as one of our clients always says…
“Freedom within an envelope”.
Authority Levels
Are there different levels of authority?
There are no exact steps when it comes to “levels of authority” or how big or small the envelope is. Although there are some key principles:
- The size of the envelope increases with the skills and experience of the person you are delegating to.
- The amount of supervision/management also decreases based on their level of experience/skill.
- Your overall goal of delegation is to have as many people in your team, do as much as they can, with as little supervision as you can.
An example of Authority Levels in action
You need a new photocopier for your office. Depending on who you ask to help you, it could look like this.
LEVEL 1 – Look into it – Provide info on all the photocopiers in our price range with the functions required.
LEVEL 2 – Look into it with pros and cons – Same as LEVEL 1 with an analysis of all options.
LEVEL 3 – Provide a specific recommendation – Recommend one copier and specify why.
LEVEL 4 – Do it and report back – Purchase the copier and let me know.
LEVEL 5 – JUST DO IT (exception reporting) – Purchase the copier, no need to let me know unless there are problems.
Your Turn
I’m not saying these levels are set in stone. I’m simply giving you an idea of how you might slowly increase the accountability for one of your team based on their response/ability.
What’s the alternative?
You hand over tasks not even thinking about authority levels.
THAT’S NOT DELEGATION, IT’S ABDICATION.
Just a little time spent on matching the task to the person’s response/ability will pay huge dividends for you, for them and your organisation. Get better at delegating, and you’ll have more time to work “on” the business not “in” it. Because, as we say in the human enterprise, as a leader…
YOUR DELEGATION DETERMINES YOUR DESTINY.
Until Next time…
Find the passion.
Develop the skills.
Make the numbers.
Make a difference.
Paul Mitchell
“APAC’s most respected transformational leadership performance coach”
Paul Mitchell (@Paul_S_Mitchell) is a speaker, author, transformational leadership coach and founder of the human enterprise. Through leadership coaching, leadership development programmes, keynotes and facilitation, Paul works with organisations to build cultures where everybody leads.
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