By: Cynthia Clay on Tue Apr 10, 2007

Delegating....we all know we should do it, yet many of us find myriad reasons to avoid it. I even heard someone recently state that delegating is just a traditional management tool that doesn’t apply in his fast-paced world. He told me that he just wants everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed....without prompting.

Now that’s an interesting idea. Evidently he wants them to know exactly what to do without explanation, without a clear grasp of their level of authority or any confusion about roles. In other words, this manager wants a team of mind-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.

I’ll grant you that the ability to delegate work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a few introspective questions:


1. Do I regularly hold on to tasks or assignments because it would take too long to train someone else?
2. Do I worry that, if I delegate priority assignments, I’ll be less valuable to the organization?
3. Do I find that my employees can’t handle the tasks I’ve delegated?
4. Do I tell myself that there are only one or two people on my team with the skills to handle delegated tasks?
5. Do I believe that a manager needs to be able to perform any task required of the work unit?
6. Have I been told that I tend to micro-manage tasks that have been delegated?
7. Do I “take back” delegated tasks when it’s clear that an employee won’t get it done on time?
8. Do I avoid delegating because I believe that my team is already overworked?
9. Do I often hand off tasks or assignments in the hallway or on the fly?
10. Do I sometimes delegate the responsibility for getting a task done without delegating the appropriate level of authority?

If you answered “yes” to 5 or more of these questions, then it may be time to check out Delegating Smartly, one of 23 NetSpeed Leadership modules. Your team will thank you for delegating well.

Cynthia Clay is the President/CEO of NetSpeed Leadership (http://netspeedleadership.com). NetSpeed Leadership meets the learning needs of managers, supervisors, and individual contributors in small to mid-sized organizations. Our programs blend interactive instruction techniques with online reinforcement tools to extend learning beyond the classroom. With this holistic approach, our clients quickly launch programs, train participants, reinforce skills, and measure the impact. To learn more about delegating, look at Delegating Smartly, one of 23 modules in the Netspeed Leadership training system.