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Unit Outline
Managing Through Delegation
Selecting Delegates
1. Which employees make the best delegates?
* Motivated employees
* Ambitious employees
* Inventive employees
* Reliable employees
2. Which employees make poor delegates?
* Overworked employees
* Insecure employees
Managing Delegates
1. How do I motivate delegates?
* Provide compensation
* Offer recognition
* Use discipline
2. How can I trust a delegate?
3. Why should I trust a previously unsuccessful delegate?
* The delegate was mismanaged
* The situation was beyond their control
* The delegate should not have been chosen
4. How can I improve my delegation skills?
* Prioritize delegated tasks
* Listen to your delegates
* Observe the workplace

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* Discipline wisely
* Think proactively
* Balance delegation responsibilities
Communication and Delegation
1. Why is communication important to delegation?
2. How can I improve my communication skills?
* Choose the right time and place
* Know what you want to say
* Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues
* Avoid sarcasm
* Be specific
3. What is the most effective way to communicate with a delegate?
4. What are some barriers to effective communication?
* Cultural barriers
* Emotional barriers
* Intellectual barriers
* Physical barriers
Unit Content
Managing Through Delegation
Selecting Delegates
Which employees make the best delegates?
There are four kinds of employees that are well suited to be delegates:
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Motivated employees
Ambitious employees
Inventive employees
Reliable employees

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Motivated employees
Motivated employees are the most productive when completing a task. Their motivation comes from
knowing that successful completion of a task will benefit them in the future. Motivated employees also
understand the task's importance to the organization, which drives them to complete it successfully.
Ambitious employees
Ambitious employees enjoy the challenge of a new task. They view new opportunities as a way of
improving themselves and the organization. Their drive for success improves their chances for
producing quality work.
Inventive employees
Inventive employees do not require much guidance and are able to complete the task on their own due to
their sense of autonomy. Selecting inventive employees saves you time, due to their ability to work with
little guidance.
Reliable employees
Employees who have demonstrated dependability on past projects are more likely to complete tasks
successfully. You must choose an employee whom you can rely on to carry out a project. Unreliable
employees will jeopardize a task's completion and potentially create new problems in the process.
Which employees make poor delegates?
You should avoid selecting employees who possess the following characteristics:
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Overworked employees
Insecure employees

Overworked employees
Overworked individuals make poor delegates due to their lack of sufficient time for completing a new
task. New responsibilities only place additional burdens on the employee.
Insecure employees
Insecure individuals are unable to complete tasks without supervision. Since insecure employees lack
the necessary confidence to carry out a task, they need your constant guidance and reassurance.
However, a confident employee reduces your involvement, due to the mutual trust in the employee's
ability to accomplish the task.
Managing Delegates
How do I motivate delegates?
When delegates become discouraged, you will need to motivate them to put forth their best effort. There
are three ways you can motivate discouraged employees:

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Provide compensation
Offer recognition
Use discipline

Provide compensation
Employees are often motivated when they know they will receive compensation of some kind.
Compensation can take the form of monetary rewards such as:
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Raises
Opportunities for advancement
Bonuses

Compensation can also consist of the following non-monetary rewards:

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The ability to learn or develop a new skill

The opportunity to work on a more challenging or desirable task when the current one is
completed

Offer recognition
Some employees feel highly motivated when their efforts are recognized. You can offer recognition
through the following ways:
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Praise employees publicly, possibly in the company newsletter or at a meeting

Give employees token gifts of appreciation
Implement an ''employee of the month'' tradition

Use discipline
Sometimes disciplinary measures must be used in order to motivate employees. While disciplinary
actions can be effective, avoid using discipline on a consistent basis, as it can serve to discourage
employees. Some disciplinary measures you can use include:
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Referring to upcoming performance appraisals

Placing employee on temporary probation status
Limiting privileges until performance improves

How can I trust a delegate?

You should base your trust on a delegate's previous successes. If a delegate has shown in the past that
they are a capable employee, you should trust their abilities. Trusting a delegate builds mutual respect
and confidence between you and the delegate.
Why should I trust a previously unsuccessful delegate?
There are three reasons why you should trust a previously unsuccessful delegate:
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The delegate was mismanaged

The situation was beyond their control

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The delegate should not have been chosen

The delegate was mismanaged

You cannot place blame on a delegate who received poor management. It is unfair to blame the delegate
when they were given inappropriate guidance during a task's completion. To make a fair judgment of the
delegate, you should overlook their failure due to poor management and focus on the individual's ability
to perform the current task.
The situation was beyond their control
You should avoid blaming delegates for failure caused by unknown or unexpected circumstances.
Delegates may encounter situations that are beyond their control regardless of the authority that you
grant them. Overlook past failures caused by unforeseeable circumstances when assessing a delegate's
abilities.
The delegate should not have been chosen
Delegates are not responsible for the problems encountered when a task is assigned at the ''last minute.''
When a delegate is chosen based on their availability instead of their skill, they are less likely to be
successful.
How can I improve my delegation skills?
There are many ways to improve your delegation skills:
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Prioritize delegated tasks

Listen to your delegates
Observe the workplace
Discipline wisely
Think proactively
Balance delegation responsibilities

Prioritize delegated tasks

Before delegating tasks, you should identify which projects have the highest priority. Tasks that are
important to organizational policy, structure, or your client and customer needs are priority tasks.
Delegating priority tasks prevents projects from being forgotten or overlooked.
Listen to your delegates
Remaining open to a delegate's ideas will create new options. Frequently, delegates possess valuable
knowledge that contributes to a task's successful completion. You should encourage your delegates to
share their insight in order to create new alternatives when completing a task.
Listening to delegates can increase the confidence you have in them. Since delegates appreciate having
the opportunity to voice their opinions, you can also build the relationship you have with your delegates
by listening to their suggestions.
Observe the workplace

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Observing your workplace for ways to improve efficiency enhances overall productivity. Examine
established work patterns in order to discover how reorganizing or reassigning tasks would benefit your
delegates' workflow.
Discipline wisely
When disciplinary action is necessary, you should use corrective measures only after assessing all the
facts of the situation. To discipline a delegate effectively, you also need to maintain control over your
emotions.
Disciplining delegates unfairly fails to correct their behavior. The delegate will perceive you as being
overly harsh and will begin to disrespect your authority.
Think proactively
Whenever possible, you should act before a negative situation develops. Acting instead of reacting
allows you to make decisions that prevent crises from developing. You should constantly monitor and
anticipate the needs of a situation to maintain a proactive position.
Balance delegation responsibilities
Jealousy can become a problem if employees perceive delegation as a tool to distribute tasks and
responsibility unfairly. To avoid this kind of animosity, balance the amount of responsibilities you
distribute among delegates.
Balancing responsibilities not only reduces conflict but also helps prevent delegates from becoming
overworked with too many tasks or becoming apathetic due to lack of activity.
Communication and Delegation
Why is communication important to delegation?
Communication allows you to express your vision, goals, and expectations. Delegates need to be aware
of their responsibilities in order to carry out tasks successfully. When communication is lacking, the task
is not likely to meet your expectations.
The ability to communicate effectively is the most important skill you can possess as a delegator. Clear
communication allows greater access to information for both you and your delegates. In addition, using
good communication skills will foster the sharing of ideas, which improves your relationship with the
delegate.
How can I improve my communication skills?
There are several ways you can enhance your communication skills:
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Choose the right time and place

Know what you want to say
Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues
Avoid sarcasm
Be specific

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Choose the right time and place

The physical environment in which you communicate with a delegate is significant. You must choose an
appropriate time and place to communicate in order to reduce distractions. Choosing the right time and
place enables you and the delegate to focus adequate attention on the discussion.
Know what you want to say
You can improve your communication skills by knowing exactly what you intend to explain to a
delegate. Delegates must understand what you want accomplished with a task. Understanding what you
want to communicate before you speak with a delegate helps you express your thoughts clearly.
Be aware of verbal and nonverbal cues
You must learn to use verbal and nonverbal skills to enhance what you say. Using voice inflection and
body movements that are naturally associated with certain feelings or behaviors can help convey your
message. When verbal and nonverbal messages are contradictory, the delegate will become confused
and misinterpret your meaning.
Avoid sarcasm
The implied message underlying sarcasm limits your ability to build trust with your delegate. The use of
sarcasm suggests that you are belittling the delegate and creates a loss of respect. Losing your delegate's
respect is damaging to your authority and will eventually lead to discipline problems.
Be specific
Avoid using vague words and phrases when speaking. Delegates may fail to understand the true
meaning of your statements when you use unclear language. Do not leave any aspect of what you are
communicating up to interpretation. Taking the time to be specific eliminates confusion and helps
prevent problems from developing.
What is the most effective way to communicate with a delegate?
The most effective way to communicate with a delegate is by being as straightforward and clear as
possible. Delegates will only understand their responsibilities and authority over the task when you
communicate in this manner. When giving directions, encourage the delegate to ask questions to ensure
that they understand your expectations.
You should also use clear communication to explain a task's boundaries. Delegates need to know their
authority limitations and resource constraints.
What are some barriers to effective communication?
There are four barriers to communication you should avoid:
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Cultural barriers
Emotional barriers
Intellectual barriers
Physical barriers

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Cultural barriers
Variations in word usage, dialect, accent, and meanings are major communication barriers. Cultural
barriers exist when there is failure to understand the speaking styles of other individuals. If you
encounter a cultural barrier when delegating, you should make sure that you and the delegate take time
to understand one another's messages completely.
In addition, you should avoid language that has any derogatory cultural, sexual, or racial undertones, as
well as language that is disrespectful to an individual's nationality or personal values.
Emotional barriers
Emotional language intentionally brings out feelings in individuals. You can inspire delegates by using
emotional language, but it can also be detrimental to the delegation process.
Placing unnecessary stress on delegates or attempting to anger them will not improve their performance.
Upsetting a delegate results in distrust and below average work. Avoid using emotional language to
discipline delegates or to offer corrective feedback.
Intellectual barriers
Demonstrating empathy and understanding allows delegates to feel more comfortable around you.
Trying to impress a delegate through your knowledge of buzzwords and technical jargon will only make
the delegate feel confused and frustrated. Using common language allows the delegate to clearly
understand your expectations.
Physical barriers
You can communicate clearly only when the environment is conducive to do so. Take time to delegate
tasks personally and in areas where there are no distractions. Avoid using the telephone, memos, and
other non-personal manners of communication to prevent misunderstandings whenever possible.

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