Tuesday, 10 March 2015

Doing Delegation Right

Delegation is empowering someone to act on your behalf or giving someone a task to perform.  Some people are masters at delegating.  Others struggle.  Having been on both sides of delegation, I’ve seen a number of things to do and to avoid.

To save time, I’m calling the person to whom the task is being delegated the “delegatee” and the person giving the task the “delegator”.

The Dos
  • Delegate only what you would be prepared to (and could) do yourself.
  • Take time when delegating.
  • Plan what, how and to whom you’ll delegate.
  • Pick the right delegatee.  If the task needs a French speaker, make sure they speak French.
  • Make sure that the delegatee has the knowledge and experience to perform the task (unless it’s being given as a challenge).
  • Make sure that the delegatee and others involved knows the limits of authority for the task.
  • Allow delegatees time to clarify and ask questions (ask “Is everything clear?”)
  • Treat delegation as a way of developing talent.
  • Treat delegation as a way of spreading workload.
  • Check from time to time that the delegatee is “on course, on time”.

 The Don’ts
  • Assume people understand what you mean.  Check.  It saves time later.
  • Forget that, although you’ve delegated responsibility, accountability remains with you. 
  • Treat delegation as an easy way of avoiding tasks you don’t enjoy.
  • Treat delegation as an easy way of avoiding work altogether.
  • Treat delegation as a way to punish someone.
  • Show favouritism in choosing to whom to delegate.
  • Delegate the same task to two/more people; this results in confusion and lack of responsibility.

 I’ve heard managers try to get things “off their plate” as quickly as they can, telling the delegatee “Oh, just work it out yourself!”  or “do whatever you think right!” This is another way of saying “I’m not taking the blame for any of your decisions or mistakes.”  If you don't have the time to explain and clarify, don’t delegate. 

Expect to invest time at the start.  As you get used to delegating, and as people get used to you and your style, they will understand better how you like things done and how you work.  They will need less clarification as time goes on. 


I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in international financial services running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

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posted by William Martin @ 09:51

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