How to teach managers to set tasks. Reverse delegation is like the “dark” side of incorrect task setting. Author Anastasia Vysotskaya. Material 23341

The most difficult question for those who plan to implement task delegation in their project is “Who to delegate to.” But in fact, the question “When to delegate” comes first, because you start thinking about delegation when you work 15 hours a day, do many tasks alone and simply don’t have enough time to complete them efficiently and in a timely manner.

In fact, it is better to think about attracting employees in advance. No matter how super professional you are, you cannot complete all tasks with 100% quality and at a fast pace when the project gains momentum and the volume/number of tasks increases significantly.

“Do it yourself” or how to spend 24 hours a day working

By performing tasks for all subordinates, the manager gets a “unique opportunity” to work around the clock. In addition, problems in the organization are a “snow globe”, and new work issues are constantly being added to new problems. It is good if the head of the company can simultaneously represent the interests of the company in the international arena and repair equipment in production. It's bad if he actually does it. As a result, he will experience burnout, moral and physical exhaustion.

An alternative to this scenario is delegation.

Purposes of delegation

Delegation of authority does not mean shifting your work onto someone else's shoulders. The main purpose of delegation is to give the manager the opportunity to lead, and not to solve ongoing ongoing issues. Only with proper distribution of responsibilities does the chief manager have the opportunity to pay due attention to his real managerial functions.

Among the purposes of transfer of powers are:

freeing up the working hours of the owner, general director and other senior managers;
increasing the importance of lower-level managers, giving them a certain freedom of action, the opportunity to demonstrate their managerial potential;
involving the team in the labor process;
creating an additional motivation tool - trust from management sometimes “works” better than financial reward;
formation of a personnel reserve;
increasing the efficiency of work “on the ground” and quickly achieving the organization’s goals.

Experts note that one of the basic tasks of a professional manager is the distribution of tasks among everyone in the team.

How do you understand that you need to learn to delegate?

Practice shows that many managers do not even think about the fact that they do not know how to relieve themselves of the extra burden in a timely manner. In such a situation, the head of the organization can spend years doing essentially someone else’s work, postponing his own important tasks: the daily routine and urgent issues simply leave no time for global ones.

To assess the level of delegation of responsibilities in his organization, a manager needs to honestly answer several questions:

Do you think that only you can do most tasks?
Do you often work overtime, trying to get everything done and control the work at all stages?
Are you often distracted from work by requests for help or to explain a task?
Are the tasks you assign to your subordinates completed poorly or late?
Do you often interfere in the process of solving delegated tasks?
Are your employees afraid that they will be affected by the delegation of responsibility, do they consider themselves insufficiently prepared to carry out more serious assignments?

If the majority of the answers are positive, then you need to start improving your skills in matters of delegation as soon as possible, reconsider your attitude towards this process, and also (as an option) think about revising your team.

A Simple Guide to Delegating: How, When and Why to Do It

Why do people avoid delegating authority? Because it requires preliminary effort. In the end, what is easier: to develop a design concept and draft text for a brochure advertising a new service that you came up with, or to ask one of your colleagues to do it? You know what you need to talk about, and your employees still need to be brought up to speed, so, of course, it’s easier for you to sit down and write everything quickly. Unless... it will affect your workload?

Why delegate?

At first glance, it seems better to do the task yourself than to explain the background and promotion strategy, but there are some good reasons to delegate this work to someone else.

Completing this task takes up time that you could spend on further strategy development or new promotional ideas.
By involving team members in the process, you develop their skills and abilities. This means that the next time you have a similar project, you can delegate similar tasks with greater confidence.

Delegation allows you to make the most of your time and skills, and helps team members grow, develop, and reach their potential.

More details

When to delegate

Delegation is a win-win, but that doesn't mean you can delegate everything. To determine when it's appropriate, ask yourself five questions:

Is there anyone else who has the necessary information or experience to complete the task? Who can you provide this information to?
Can someone else do this task or is it important to you that you do it yourself?
Does this task provide an opportunity for someone to gain new experience or develop skills?
Will this task be repeated in the future?
Do you have enough time to delegate effectively? Can you set aside time to study, answer questions, or check progress?
Should you delegate this task? Some of them (like hiring new people for the team) require special attention and cannot be done by anyone else.

Effective leadership expert Elizabeth Lyle talks about how companies can give their managers the freedom and training they need for today's management style.

Factors contributing to task delegation:

Project deadlines: how much time do you have for the work, is there time to redo it, if it was not done properly the first time, what are the consequences of not completing it on time.
Your expectations or goals for the project or tasks, including: how important it is that the results be of the highest quality, whether an “adequate” result is enough, whether failure will be decisive.

Please note that the presence of all conditions does not guarantee successful completion of the delegated task.

More details

Who to delegate to?

You should consider the following factors:

1. The person's experience, knowledge and skills in relation to the delegated task:

What skills and experience does the person have?
Do you have the time and resources to provide the necessary training?

2. Preferred individual work style:

What does the candidate want to get out of their job?
What are his or her long-term goals and interests and how do they relate to the job being offered?

3. Current workload:

Does he or she have time for extra work?
Will you have to delegate this task to redistribute other responsibilities and workloads?

When you first delegate a task or authority to someone, you will notice that your candidate will take more time than you to complete the tasks. This is fine. This happens because you are an expert in your field, and the person you assigned to is still learning. Be patient: if you choose the right person, you will find that he or she will quickly become competent in the desired area.

How to delegate

Clearly state what result you expect to receive.
Define boundaries of authority, responsibility and accountability. Should a person wait until they are told what to do, ask for advice and then act, or do the work first and then report the results?
Include other team members in the delegation process. Give them the power to decide what tasks to delegate to them and when.
Compare the amount of responsibility with the amount of authority. You can relieve yourself of some of the responsibility, but by no means all.
Delegate to the lowest organizational level. The person best suited for a task is someone who is directly familiar with its work processes and understands their details.
Be supportive and ready to answer questions. Ensure project success through constant communication, monitoring and provision of the right resources.
Focus on results. Focus on what gets done rather than detailing how the work should be done: How you do tasks doesn't mean it's the only best option. Allow the person to use their own methods and processes.
Avoid bottom-up delegation. If there is a problem, don't let the person shift responsibility for the task back to you.
Work on your motivation. Discuss how success will affect financial rewards, future opportunities, informal recognition, and other desired consequences.
Monitor the execution process:

Discuss timelines and deadlines.
Select checkpoints where you will track the progress of the project.
Take time to review progress reports.

Time management expert Laura Vanderkam offers several strategies to help us find time for the things that matter to us, so we can “build the life we want with the time we have.”

What's next

After completing all the steps above, proceed to instructing the team member. Explain why you chose this particular person to work with, tell us what you expect from him, share the goals you set for the project and the resources you are willing to provide. Create a reporting schedule. Be sure to convey to the person that you are always ready to share knowledge, advice and discuss problems that arise.

More details

Basic principles of delegation

All processes in management have their own “laws”. A universal “recipe” has also been developed for delegation of authority, which allows one to increase the efficiency of this process.

Delegation can be called correct if all principles are met:

Strict hierarchy within the organization with a single boss for each subordinate and a limited number of subordinates for each boss.
Clear definition of responsibilities and rights for each employee.
Delegation of responsibility is giving subordinates not only tasks, but also the responsibility for their decisions and actions.
Reporting - notifying senior managers of any deviations from the planned work plan.

Also, the manager remains responsible for monitoring the work of all departments, and it is he who is responsible for the results of the organization as a whole.

Delegation Rules

In order for the transfer of authority process to be effective, certain rules must be followed:

assess the level of workload of employees when transferring new responsibilities to them;
take into account the abilities and capabilities of team members;
introduce new tasks gradually;
do not concentrate power in one place - at one level of management;
take into account the likelihood of errors by subordinates;
give employees a “second chance” in case of imperfect performance of new responsibilities right away.

It is important for a manager to “keep in mind” a plan in case delegated tasks are completed with errors.

Types of delegation of authority

There are certain types of delegation of authority: full, limited, zero and reverse.

Full delegation is a situation in which the employee is fully responsible for completing the assigned task. The immediate supervisor is not involved in the task at all. This type is also called “direct delegation”.

With limited delegation, the work is performed by a subordinate, but he shares responsibility for the result with his immediate supervisor. Zero delegation implies that responsibility is transferred entirely to the manager.

There is also reverse delegation of authority , when the received task, responsibility and instruments of power are fully transferred to the leader.

All types of delegation are carried out at various stages of transfer of authority. At the final stage, the powers of the top manager are limited and are exercised only at the closest levels of subordination. Then managers have the right to make operational decisions independently.

Reasons for Ineffective Delegation

Inexperienced managers often simply cannot determine which tasks they can delegate to subordinates. Over time, this understanding comes in practice, but a number of other “stoppers” arise:

perfectionism;
fear of mistakes;
distrust of subordinates;
fear that staff will not cope with tasks;
impatience, the desire to do everything as quickly as possible;
lack of time to explain tasks and transfer your knowledge to subordinates.

In addition, vanity is a common reason for wanting to do everything yourself. "Who if not me?" - This is another misconception that distances a leader from achieving global goals. With the endless stream of current affairs, there is simply no time to raise your head and see where the organization is heading.

How to delegate correctly - an example

What? Formulate what you want to delegate. Do you want to transfer weekly orders of sold items? What exactly needs to be done for this? In what form should this be given to the supplier? Is there a clear framework for this task, and are adjustments possible?

Who? Who should you delegate this task to? Who is responsible for it, based on job descriptions? To what extent are you and the performer responsible? At what stages and who controls this issue?

For what? Why is it even worth replenishing the product range every week, and what can happen if you don’t? It is necessary to clearly convey to the employee the importance of the task - this will create the necessary motivation;

How? During delegation, you should not only explain how the process itself occurs, but also take into account all the nuances. Who should I notify in case of delivery delay? How can I change an order, and at what stages can this still be done?

With using what? Tell us everything. How can you see sales in the program for different periods, see the balances in the warehouse, give all the contacts that may be useful to the contractor, right down to the support and security service;

When? Clearly set a time frame for when the employee must start work and submit it. If necessary, set intermediate deadlines when you must monitor the stages of work.

Benefits of Delegation

The benefits of the ability to delegate authority are beyond doubt. In this case, company owners benefit: in addition to being freed from excess workload, they get the opportunity to increase the company’s productivity and, consequently, income. Effective distribution of tasks among top managers helps develop the organization at different levels and allows managers to express themselves in solving business problems.

Increasing responsibility through delegation of authority is an opportunity for middle managers to prove themselves in management and decision making.

For employees, such processes become a unique opportunity to gain new experience, develop, progress and understand the features of management activities in case of promotion.

Thus, delegation of responsibilities is a powerful tool that “frees the hands” of representatives of the central management level, allows them to unlock the potential of subordinates, and motivates employees to become better and grow up the career ladder. This does not mean that the leader will do his work. But such “unloading” allows you to free up time for making more important decisions, focusing on long-term planning and development of the organization. The chief manager retains the functions of monitoring the execution of work and, of course, he bears full responsibility for everything that happens in the company.

If you use this tool wisely and follow the basic principles of delegation, everyone will benefit.

The second difficult point is “Who should I delegate to?”

I encountered it when I made my first attempts at delegation. I will share with you my experience and conclusions regarding the selection of employees for the team.

Zero option

I did the following: I turned to a person I knew and offered him training + further cooperation. It would seem that this is not an option that is mutually beneficial for both parties. BUT!

We started learning, I spent my time teaching the person, but his enthusiasm quickly faded away. The initial excitement at the prospects and ignorance of what I had to do gave way to the understanding that I had to work and study very hard. When it came to specific tasks and tasks (even during training!) the person simply refused to move on, in response to my efforts I received template answers “I don’t have time”, “not my thing”, etc.

Option No. 1 - Delegating tasks to a person you trained yourself

I never gave up trying to assemble a team and delegate tasks. Therefore, I took a different path - selecting people for delegation through mass training. I taught a course on contextual advertising and chose an assistant among the 50 students in the group. I saw how this person studies on the course, how he completes tasks, how he approaches his work and what qualities he has. And in the end I found the one I needed to work together.

Option No. 2 – Delegating tasks to an already trained specialist

You can delegate part of your responsibilities to a person who is already a ready-made specialist, and you know him: you have crossed paths somewhere, communicated. You have been looking closely at his activities for some time and are sure that he can really perform a certain type of work. You communicate, you are satisfied with his personal and professional qualities. Then this person can be delegated. But!

You must clearly, in detail and specifically state his responsibilities, discuss the terms of cooperation and the procedure for working together. And immediately discuss his ability to work with other people. Write down all organizational aspects and agree on them at the initial stage, so that later you don’t have chaos.

There is another very important nuance - the specialist to whom you want to delegate tasks may have other projects. This point must be taken into account, because you do not work together in the office and cannot control how work on your project is carried out. If a specialist has many third-party projects, there may simply not be enough time for yours.

Therefore, it is necessary and important to stipulate how much time the specialist will devote to working on your project. Ideally, a specialist should have a regular customer in the first place, and third-party additional orders - in his free time from the main project. It will be much easier for you (as an employer) if your project is a priority.

If delegating a content branch is now a priority for you, but you have no idea how to do it correctly, read detailed recommendations in the article by content marketing expert Valeria Efanova, “Content Marketing for Business. How a new entrepreneur can choose a content marketer and build effective interaction with him.”

Delegating tasks is not a panacea!

Having chosen the direction of delegation of tasks for yourself, you must be prepared for the fact that for some time (week/month/several months) there will be instability and a grinding-in process. You need to participate in completing tasks, observe the work of employees, evaluate their team skills and personal qualities, and also answer questions.

It will not be possible to transfer all the tasks at once; you will have to spend time introducing the new team member to the affairs and tasks of the project, introducing him to the other participants and helping the person get used to it faster.

Do not try to completely control every action of employees who are already “in the know,” otherwise this is no longer delegation - you are still constantly in the project.

The time that you will have free after delegating some of your tasks, you can use to plan and conduct events aimed at promoting your project and developing you as a brand. Or rest more ;)

In the next article I will tell you exactly how to select employees and organize teamwork. Continuation of the topic of delegation is coming soon!

Nadezhda Rayushkina

About the Author
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About Nadezhda Rayushkina

Internet advertising specialist. I help entrepreneurs set up effective contextual advertising.

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