I recently read an article on the importance of delegating authority written by Fred Koury, President and CEO of Smart Business. He uses
an airline pilot analogy that for me having served several years in the airline industry really hit home, so I thought I would share it with you.
Imagine for a moment that you are on a plane flying at 30,000 feet. As you cruise along, suddenly the door to the cockpit opens and
the pilot walks back into the passenger compartment and starts getting drinks ready for the passengers and then leaves to deal with an unruly person in row 23. What would you think? First, who is flying the plane? Second, why in the world is the pilot out dealing with things that are clearly the responsibilities of others?
There are two possibilities to this exaggerated example. Either the pilot isn’t very good and can’t focus on the task at hand or the
people working with the pilot can’t get the job done on their own, so he has to come out and help. Either way, the plane doesn’t have anyone at the controls and the ramifications of that are very serious for everyone on board.
So as a leader, you can’t keep your business pointed in the right direction and navigate around hazards if you are distracted and forced to
deal with issues that really belong to someone else. So if you’re dealing with issues and tasks that clearly belong to someone else either the problem is you or the people who work for you. Either case requires you to take action. If the problem is you, then your management style needs to change. The only way you are going to be successful is if you start piloting your plane and leave the details to the people you hired to do those jobs or tasks.
At some point, you have to trust that they will get it done — maybe not the same way you would have done it — but done nevertheless.
If you talk to any successful CEO about what his or her average day looks like, it typically is all about strategic planning, meeting
with investors, advisers or checking in with direct reports on key initiatives. Successful CEOs will not normally mention things like going on sales calls, troubleshooting a minor project or game planning about how to improve workflow within a department.
Why don’t they mention these types of activities? Because they aren’t doing them. If they were “down in the weeds,” dealing with details, who would be piloting the company from a strategic perspective? The moment they started getting lost in the details is the moment the company would start to drift off course, because no one was there to steer it.
If the problem is your people, then that’s another issue. If you’re trying to pilot the plane but you have no choice but to go back and
remind someone for the third time that you need some key piece of information or something else that should have long since been taken care of, then you may have a people problem. If you can’t trust the people below you to get the job done and they are doing poorly enough to where it’s a distraction to you, your only choice is to make a change.
That might mean training, it might mean moving someone to a different position better suited to his or her skills, or it might mean parting
ways. But you can’t jeopardize the business by walking out into the weeds while the strategy goes on autopilot.
Being CEO is never easy. It’s up to you to decide whether the problem is the pilot or the crew, but one thing is for sure, you are never
going to be able to pilot a plane if you are stuck in the weeds.
The following seven steps may help you in delegating tasks to achieve success. These tips can not only be used in your organization for more success, but in every aspect of your life to accomplish more.
1. Understand the Task – you must understand the task before you delegate it. I can’t stress this on enough.
Make sure you understand the task so that you can clearly communicate the task to the person undertaking the task. You must also understand what barriers and resources are required to succeed.
Also, you must understand what tools you have to make the task successful. Along with resources needed, if the person isn’t progressing on the task, what options do you have as a leader and manager to make it successful? Questions you can ask is, “Can I provide additional training?” or “Can I acquire additional tools?” Or if they are not suited for the task, ask these questions, “Can I reassign them?” or if they turn out to be detrimental to the project or team, “What actions can I take to alleviate this situation?”
2. Find the Right Person
Find the person who is motivated to take on the task. You may have someone who has the skills to do the task but is not motivated to do it. This situation will not work. However, if you have someone who doesn’t have the skills, but is highly motivated to learn and is excited about the opportunity, then this is a good candidate for delegation. The person must also be motivated to take on this task for the good of the group as well as his/her own motivations. You might ask, “How does this assignment help you achieve your career goals?” It also helps the person has good communications skills to express any concerns.
3. Communicate the Task
Take the time to clearly communicate the task. Communicate the expectations of the task. And most importantly, communicate the ownership of the task. What I mean is that the person assigned to the task will be ultimately responsible for the success of the task. When communicating responsibility for the task, let the person know the consequences of not completing the task and the rewards of completing the task. For example, you might say something like this:
“John, this report to justify the new computer system is important because if it is not done on time our department will not have the tools to meet our customer’s needs. By putting together the report by the June 15th deadline we will qualify for the new computer system which will allow our department to exceed customer service expectations, increase our organization’s bottom line and earn you a bigger bonus and positive exposure for future opportunities. I know you will do what it takes to make this happen.”
Note: If possible, show the employee how to do the task. Telling and showing the person delegated the task enhances the probability of his/her understanding and being confident with the task.
Now is our opportunity to make sure that the person we are delegating the task to, has the resources. Whether it is the time, people, or technology, it is our responsibility to find out after understanding the task, picking the right person, and communicating the task to provide the resources for success. I have seen time and time again in a variety of organizations where the person delegated the task has the ownership for its success but doesn’t have the resources to be successful. Take the time to ask the following question, “What resources will you need to be successful?”
Also find out what barriers might be in the way to successful completion of the task and eliminate them. This could be people, organizational restrictions, or lack of knowledge. For example, with people, the task you assign might require the person assigned the task to work with someone who has a “challenging personality.” Knowing this, you could make sure that this person with the “challenging personality” understands the importance of this task so that he/she does not hinder the success of the task.
Note: Let the person delegated know that you have an open door should he/she have any questions concerning the task. Open communication is important for this arrangement to work. When you provide resources and remove barriers for the person delegated the task, you are ensuring complete ownership for the success of the task.
5. Ensure Understanding
Make sure when the person leaves the meeting, that he/she understands exactly what is expected. The typical interaction between a manager or supervisor and the employee is the manager asks, “Do you understand everything we discussed?” and the employee of course says, “Yes.” Then a week later the manager is disappointed with the results of the task and asks, “What happened?” and the employee says, “I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do.” We set that employee up for failure by not taking the time to make sure he/she understood what was expected to make this task successful.
By asking the question, “John, do you understand the task at hand?” you receive a closed-ended, or yes or no, answer. It doesn’t give you one ounce of information on whether the person understands the project.
By asking an open-ended question, “John, please share with me your understanding of what is required to make this task successful?” the person giving the answer is required to give a comprehensive answer detailing his/her thoughts on the task at hand. The answer will give you an indication as to whether the task is understood or not. Also, at this point, the employee may give you in the answer a totally different and better way to accomplish the task.
6. Encourage Success
Let the person delegated the task know that you have confidence in him/her. Remember, in most cases, this task is new to him/her and by communicating that you have confidence that he/she will be successful gives the confidence to succeed. You might say something like:
“John, I’m glad we had the time to go over this task today and you understand what is required to be successful. I am excited and confident that you will make this task your own and put your unique spin on it. I look forward to hearing about your progress on this task and the successes along the way to its completion. Thank you for undertaking this very important task.”
7. Follow-up, Reward, Follow-up, Reward
Make sure you know the level of follow-up required. One factor is the person you are delegating the task to and his/her level of knowledge and confidence concerning the task. Ask! Some people may want much follow-up, while other may require little follow-up. It also depends on how difficult the task is to complete.
Make sure you have scheduled follow-ups. Before you leave the first meeting, make sure you schedule your first follow-up; whether it is one day or week, schedule that first follow-up.
Reward progress at each follow-up meeting and in public if possible. Show appreciation in the meeting and, if possible, in public so that everyone is motivated to do more.
Correct to get back on track. In most cases it may be as simple as showing the correct way of doing the task or brainstorming so that the person responsible for the task will come up with the solution. This will keep the person and your team motivated toward the end result.
I am sure there are many other ways people have successfully delegated in their business and personal lives and I welcome your suggestions and experiences.
When my children were younger they often asked me what I did at work. As my career advanced my answer changed. This particular time it was my son asking and I explained that my job was to help set the company’s strategy, help make people the best they can be, and ensure that our organization had the right resources and skills sets to execute our business plan. My son’s response was, “So, you don’t really do any actual work.”
After my husband stopped laughing, I assured my son that I worked very hard and the work I was doing was critical to the success of the business. But in a way, my son was picking up on something important: I had gotten to a point in my career where my contribution to the company was better served by teaching others, rather than doing it myself.
A lot of leaders can’t get to this point because they either don’t know how to or they’re afraid of delegating. Maybe they think it will take too long to train someone effectively, or if they delegate too much, they’ll have nothing left to do. And often the more competent they are, the harder it is to delegate. They’re afraid the work won’t get done at all, or more likely, it won’t be done according to their high standards. It’s difficult to give up control, especially when you won’t tolerate anything less than the perfectionism and the high-level of performance you expect of yourself.
Trust me, I know because I am definitely one of those control freaks. I am trying to reform, but sometimes I slip. However, I have learned that I can’t do everything myself. The only way your career – and your business – will grow is by assuming increasingly higher levels of responsibility; the only way you’ll have time to do that, without spending your life at work, is to delegate. You have to work on your business and let everyone else work in it.
Below are some tips that may help you delegate with more ease:
Create a culture where mistakes are tolerated. All senior leaders must understand that mistakes are acceptable — as long as people learn from them. No one will accept more responsibility, try new things, or risk making a mistake if they get yelled at or penalized. This is essential.
In formal reviews, include a specific rating for delegation. Do not just mention delegation in passing. It should merit a specific grade. Discuss with managers how they can delegate one-third of their job to one or more of their direct reports. Ask them to develop a specific timeline with the peoples’ names to which they’ll delegate.
Communicate to your staff that pay increases come only with increased value provided. Increased value comes not only with increased effort, but also with a higher-level responsibilities and duties — some of those duties that you might be doing now.
It’s so easy to solve others’ problems by giving quick solutions, but that makes people dependent on you. Tell all your direct reports, and have them tell theirs, that when people want to know how to solve something, they must come with suggested solutions. They should be ready to discuss the factors that should be considered, and provide reasons why one solution seems better than another. Pretty soon people will become more autonomous, feel more empowered, need less supervision, and get people in the habit of thinking critically. That’s good input for determining succession planning and promotions.
