Delegate and empower your people

Too many managers don’t delegate or do it so badly that they disempower their staff.

Some managers say they try to delegate but end up getting a negative attitude from their staff. When managers blame staff for their negativity they are behaving like victims, and in fact are themselves not empowered. When a manager blames others, doesn’t take responsibility and doesn’t demonstrate empowerment, how can the staff be empowered? Good leaders demonstrate empowerment, they model the correct behaviour.

Effective delegation

It may take longer to teach someone else to do a job well than to do it yourself. Identify opportunities for growth of staff, improvement of business and recognise your own limitations.

• Consider what to delegate and to whom. Identify the best person for the job. The person you delegate to and empower must have potential. Ensure commitment and assess the skills needed and the skills and qualifications the person has.
• Define the task or project – don’t just pass on work you don’t want to do.
• Give management guarantees. Give people a say in what is done and how. To build commitment and loyalty invite participation and use the staffs’ expertise, don’t punish them for thinking.
• Be prepared to try things that staff suggest, create a learning environment. Take risks and ensure the person can learn from mistakes without blaming and defensiveness.
• Be flexible and open to new and different ways of doing things even when the person is very new to the business.
• Provide all the necessary information and resources. Managers often fail to do this well.
• Be supportive, approachable, fair, reliable, open, caring and competent.
• Give ownership and responsibility, but ultimate accountability is with you. Be prepared to protect the person from overload and failure.
• Enthuse and inspire. Show interest at the start and throughout the project.
• Give praise and when needed specific constructive feedback. Reward good work generously. Too much criticism can be harmful. Poorly given feedback is one of the most common reasons for conflict.
• Be clear and thorough. Articulate a clear vision, goals and specific outcomes. Set mini goals. Stress results and realistic timelines. Explain clearly what you expect and how the project fits in to the overall plan. Define the responsibility.
• Ensure sufficient time for the delegation briefing and encourage questions, repetition and discussion to check for understanding.
• Discuss any potential difficulties and barriers and how they might be tackled.
• Agree on when and how the progress and quality will be monitored. Avoid being a “cop” and over-supervising, as interference can be debilitating and disempower the person.
• Keep a list of agreed actions and objectives/outcomes.
• Put it in writing or ask person to provide understanding by response in writing.
• Celebrate achievements and ideas that will create improvement.

It’s always exciting to see your people excel by delegating and empowering so they can become champions.

Eve Ash has developed a range of resources on delegation and empowerment, including a new release in the Q&A series: Delegating and Empowering.