Management Thoughts Series - The Art and The Science of Delegation – Part II

The Art and The Science of Delegation – Part II

When you delegate tasks, you create Followers. When you delegate authority, you create Leaders.
                         – Craig Groeschel, Founder of Life Church

Link to the first part of the article - https://harshad-datar.blogspot.com/2018/12/management-thoughts-series-art-and.html

The first part of the article looked at a few things which very much covered the whole concept and its advantages and disadvantages (if the delegation is not done).

In reality, it is seen that a large number of leaders shy away from the delegation. It may be nice to talk of delegation and why should it be done, particularly during seminars and discussions. In such an environment, in an AC hall and in the company of bigwigs, pontification on Delegation makes right sense. One can also claim “Delegation is my core principle”.

The situation may be different when it comes to its application. The people who spoke so eloquently about delegation and proclaimed that delegation is their “Mool Mantra” (cardinal principle), could well be biggest “Centralists” who consider themselves to be the centre of the organisation and presume that the world has to and is revolving around them.

In simple words, almost everyone vouches for delegation in theory but in reality, most keep all the Authority with themselves and only handover (not delegate because delegate means giving Authority first and then Responsibility of the task) responsibility to the subordinates. Some go one step further. They handover only responsibility to the subordinates and demand accountability from them without assigning authority to them.

It is important to note that organizations are like human beings, they are organic. All kind of organisations succeed and all kind of organizations fail. Organisational success depends on a huge number of tangible and intangible factors and no single factor results in success or failure of an organization.

If it is presumed that an organisation with the climate of delegation and the one which followed delegation very systematically will succeed, it would be an inaccurate presumption. The point is, the delegation should be looked at as an Effectiveness Enhancement Tool and not a pill for success.

This article will examine various factors that influence the decision to Delegate tasks or otherwise. These factors would be examined from the point of view of the Organisation, the Delegator (or Non-Delegator) and The Delegated.

Organisational Factors (of Delegation or otherwise).

-        The work culture of the organization. Most people love to go with the flow. If they realise that their organization values delegation and accepts the attended risk, they will either delegate or at least put up a pretence of delegation.

-        Belief System of the organization.  If the organization has an inherent faith in its people and has the development of their HR as one of the core objectives, the delegation would be encouraged.

-        Tolerance to Ambiguity. When delegation is done, there is uncertainty about the outcome till a feedback is received. If an organization is such that everyone wants live feedback, delegation is not suitable for such organisation.

Factors Affecting the Delegator.

-        Organisational Culture. This point has been discussed above.

-        Delegator’s Depth of Knowledge. Only those superiors who understand what exactly needs to be done in a delegated task can delegate. If they themselves lack knowledge, delegation is unlikely to happen.

-        Delegator's Confidence. Even when delegator has all the knowledge, delegation may not happen if delegator is underconfident about correcting the situation if the subordinate does not perform the delegated task in an expected manner or is unsuccessful.

-        Importance of the Task. As explained in the previous part, only some of the “essential” tasks and most of the “desirable” tasks can be delegated, If the tasks are “vital”, it may be worthwhile to keep them with the superior.

-        Quality and Capability of the Delegated. As much the Delegator would like to delegate if the subordinate is incapable of handling responsibility even after giving authority, Delegation is unlikely.

-        Availability of Resources. Sometimes the resources available for a task are so limited that they just cannot be distributed. In such case, it may not be possible for Delegator to delegate (It is only armed forces which believe that given all the time and resource even a donkey can produce results, an officer must be able to produce a result without both time and resources. Does a donkey actually produce any result other than carrying load is a moot question?).

-        Risk Taking Ability of Delegator. With all the factors are in favour of a delegation to happen, a chicken-hearted (Sorry chickens, I don’t really know if you are chicken-hearted but we humans deem so) delegator (also known as “Zero Error” Syndrome, forgetting that there is nothing called “Zero Error” as errors have their unique way of injecting themselves into foolproof arrangements too) would never delegate. Such Delegators do not operate from the “Hope of Success”. They operate from the “Fear of Failure’.

Factors Affecting Delegated.

-        The desire to Shoulder Responsibility. Some subordinates may be so ambitionless that they are happy doing the bare minimum and have no desire to do anything beyond the routine. If they are delegated a task, it would be a disaster.

-        Knowledge and Initiative of a Delegated. Even when a simple task is delegated, it may need knowledge, initiative and application by an individual. If anyone of the quality is lacking, that quality needs to be developed first before the Delegated (Subordinate)  is capable of taking on the task.

-        The faith of the Delegator. If a subordinate is not been able to garner faith of a superior, as much better he performs in the delegated task, the subordinate is only going get the criticism of this work. But the best part is, if the boss does not have faith in a subordinate (for whatever reason), no delegation is likely to happen.

My Experience.

In my extended carrier, I have come to the conclusion that only these three things affect delegation:-

-        The confidence of the Delegator (in himself). This is explained above. All underconfident Delegators have “Zero Error Syndrome” and would never delegate.

-        Risk Taking ability of the Delegator. When a task is delegated, the accountability remains with the delegator. There is a degree of risk involved in the delegation, even when the task is given to the best of the subordinate. If the senior is “risk averse”, no delegation is possible.

-        The capability of a Subordinate. It is important to delegate tasks to suitable subordinate based or their abilities. The right man should be assigned the right job.

-        Ability to put Faith in the Subordinate. When the adequate authority is provided to a subordinate, responsibility and expected outcome are explained in an unambiguous manner and absolute faith has been posed in him/her, all delegated tasks have been completed in given time and resources and with the required outcome. No subordinate has ever failed me in 34 years in carrying delegated tasks.

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