Training material for Delegation Skills

1. A Primer for Managers to practice Delegation
successfully
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2. Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:
Appreciate the importance of delegating to others as a way to offload
work and get more done in your busy life
Face your fear of delegation and learn to think positively of delegating
tasks to others
Adopt an appropriate strategy to delegate the right task to the right
people at the right time and in the right way
Use a systematic step-by-step approach to brief people on what you
want to delegate to them
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3. What is Delegation?
Delegation is the assignment of responsibility to
another person for the purpose of carrying out specific
job-related activities. Delegation is a shift of decision-
making authority from one organizational level to
another.

4. Benefits of Delegation
Manager / Supervisor Benefits
Reduced stress
Improved time management
Increased trust
Employee Benefits
Professional knowledge and skill development
Elevated self-esteem and confidence
Sense of achievement
Organizational Benefits
Increased teamwork
Increased productivity and efficiency

5. Why Not?
…its too hard!
…it takes too much time!
…nobody can do it as good as I
can
…nobody else has any time
either……

7. Knowing When to Delegate
Delegating can be especially helpful in the following
situations:
When the task offers valuable training to an employee
When an employee has more knowledge or experience
related to the task than you
When the task is recurring and all employees should be
prepared or trained
When the task is of low priority and you have high
priority tasks that require your immediate attention

8. To Whom Should You
Delegate?
When deciding who to select for the task, you must
consider:
The current work load of the employee
The employee’s strengths and weaknesses
The training and experience levels of the employee

9. Activity – 6 Levels of Delegation
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10. Activity – Identify your style of Delegation
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11. Steps in Delegation
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

12. Introduce the Task
Determine the task
to be delegated
Determine the tasks
to retain
Select the delegate

13. Introduce the Task
Determine the task to
be delegated
Determine the tasks to
retain
Select the delegate
Those tasks you
completed prior to
assuming new role
Those tasks your
delegates have more
experience with
Routine activities
Those things not in your
core competency

14. Introduce the Task
Determine the task to
be delegated
Determine the tasks
to retain
Select the delegate
Supervision of the
subordinates
Long-term planning
Tasks only you can do
Assurance of program
compliance
Dismissal of
volunteers/members/par
ents, etc.

15. Introduce the Task
Determine the task to
be delegated
Determine the tasks to
retain
Select the delegate
Look at the individual
strengths/weaknesses
Determine the areas of
interest
Determine the need for
development of the
delegate

16. Introduce the Task
Use What-Why
Statements:
I want you to do…..
Because you……

17. What-Why
Statements
In your groups, brainstorm 5 tasks you are
currently doing that could be delegated.
Determine who would serve as your best
delegate for each of the tasks.
Compose what – why statements for each
of the 5 tasks brainstormed.

18. Demonstrate Clearly
Show examples of previous
work
Explain objectives
Discuss timelines, set deadlines

19. Ensuring Understanding
Clear communication
Ask for clarification
Secure commitment
Don’t say no to them
Collaboratively determine methods for follow-up

20. Allocate…
authority, information, resources
Grant authority to determine process, not desired
outcomes
Provide access to all information sources
Refer delegate to contact persons or specific
resources that have assisted previously
Provide appropriate training to ensure success

21. Let go…
Communicate delegate’s authority
Step back, let them work
Use constrained access
Don’t allow for reverse delegation

22. Support and Monitor
Schedule follow-up meetings
Review progress
Assist, when requested
Avoid interference
Publicly praise progress and completion
Encourage problem solving

23. In your group, select one task from your
previous group work. Determine 5
techniques that would be effective for
supporting/monitoring the progress of a
delegate.

24. Activity – Why do Managers….?
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25. Delegation Stressors
Loss of control?
If you train your subordinates to apply the same
criteria as you would yourself, then they will be
exercising your control on your behalf.

26. Delegation Stressors
Too much time spent on explaining the tasks
The amount of time spent up front is, in fact, great.
But, continued use of delegation may free you up to
complete more complex tasks and/or gain you some
time for yourself.

27. Delegation Stressors
Compromising your own value
By successfully utilizing appropriate delegation, your
value to the group/organization will grow at a greater
rate as you will have more time to do more things…….

28. Delegation Obstacles
Lack of support
 Managers and employees must be fully supportive of the
delegation efforts in order to be successful
Failure to plan
 Taking the time to follow the steps for delegation can avoid
any pitfalls that might otherwise be overlooked
Lack of communication
 Communicating the plan in a clear and precise manner
prevents errors caused by miscommunication

29. Delegation Obstacles (cont’d.)
Fear of relinquishing control
 Management may be resistant to delegating at first, but
delegation can build trust and morale among managers and
employees
Micromanagement
 Micromanagement prevents employees from completing
their assigned tasks and defeats the purpose of delegation

30. Signs of Micromanagement
Micromanaging occurs when a manager assigns a task
to an employee, but prevents the employee from
successfully completing the task on his/her own
Micromanagers usually:
Resist delegating
Prevent employees from making decisions
Revoke tasks after they have been assigned
Avoid letting employees work independently

31. How to Avoid Micromanagement
Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of
managers and employees
Create a written plan and timeline
Include scheduled meetings and evaluations rather
than frequent ‘check ins’ that can be viewed as
micromanaging
Allow employees and managers to openly
communicate any concerns or questions they may
have

32. Practice Makes Perfect
It gets easier the more you do it
You become more familiar with your delegates
Flow-through task delegation

33. Activity – Complete Delegation Exercise
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34. Consequences of poor delegating
Information and decision-making not shared by the group
Leaders become tired out
When leaders leave groups, no one has experience to carry
on
Group morale becomes low and people become frustrated
and feel powerless
The skills and knowledge of the group/organization are
concentrated in a few people
New members don’t find any ways to contribute to the
work of the group.

35. And, finally…..
“The secret of success is not in doing your own work
but in recognizing the right [person] to do it.”
~Andrew Carnegie