Free Article By Paul Glen of C2
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The Delegation Boomerang
(This article originally appeared in
Computerworld USA)
Have you ever noticed that delegation doesn’t
always work? Have you ever given one of your subordinates a task and a few days
later found it back on your to-do list? I call this the delegation boomerang
effect.
When this happens, most managers like to think
of themselves as victims. I often hear something like, “My people just aren’t up
to the job, so I have to do it myself. Woe is me.”
But this is silly. Usually, it’s not that the
people can’t do the job, but that the manager doesn’t want them to do the job.
The manager wants the job for himself, no matter how much he protests to the
contrary.
The boomerang effect happens because managers
get stymied by the emotional obstacles to giving away responsibility and
authority. While they tell the subordinates that they want to delegate
decision-making power or cool technical work, they really want it for themselves
and find ways to take it back. Sometimes the subordinates give it back because
they don’t want the responsibility, the work or the risk of accepting blame. But
sometimes it happens because managers and subordinates have differing
assumptions about what has been delegated, the degree of empowerment provided
and the level of individual initiative expected.
The problems with this scenario are fairly
obvious. A big part of the point of management is to make a group of people
productive by enabling parallel activity, but when delegation fails, work
becomes single-threaded. This situation is not just a problem for managers, but
also for subordinates. Generally, technical people want to accept
responsibility, take on tasks, learn and grow. But when delegation fails,
subordinates see no opportunity to grow. They lose initiative and become
dependent.
So, how does this happen? I’ve seen three
general modalities.
1. Status reporting becomes decision-making.
Most commonly, a subordinate starts out offering a status report. Next thing you
know, it seems the boss has a decision to make, effectively taking back
responsibility. It happens either because the subordinate asks for it or because
the boss feels uncomfortable accepting information without taking some sort of
action. But when this happens, the boss is subliminally telling the subordinate
that he expects a low level of initiative.
2. Authority reverts to recommendation. When
you’ve delegated decision-making authority, sometimes subordinates come back
with recommendations and analysis rather than decisions. Here the subordinate is
asking to be relieved of authority.
3. Micromanagement discourages initiative. Here
the boss becomes so intrusive in monitoring progress that the subordinate
assumes that the boss doesn’t really want to delegate after all and lets him
take back control.
So, how do you make delegated tasks stay where
you put them?
1. Know yourself. Try to be aware of how you
feel about delegation. If you are ambivalent about it, reflect on why and
whether you can reliably delegate this task.
2. Don’t catch the boomerang. When someone
offers you a status report, rather than telling him what to do, ask him what he
plans to do. When he offers recommendations, thank him for the update and ask
him what he plans to do. And resist the temptation to micromanage.
3. Clarify the level of initiative you expect
when you delegate a task. Explain whether you are delegating authority or just a
task. Ask whether the person is comfortable accepting this degree of delegation.
Make sure that you both agree on expectations.
4. Say it again. When someone tries to give you
back a task, reiterate the level of initiative you described at the outset.
Remind the person of your initial agreement.
With a bit of self-awareness and discipline,
you can make delegation work. You need not be a victim of the delegation
boomerang effect.
© Copyright 2007 by Computerworld Inc., One Speen Street, Framingham, MA, 01701. Reprinted by permission of
Computerworld. All Rights Reserved.
