Reluctance to Delegate

In spite of all the good reasons to delegate, some technical professionals never learn how to do it effectively. This failure hampers the success of the organization and hinders the individual s advancement. Experience reveals the following seven reasons, or more precisely, rationales for this reluctance. 

Fear of advancemenf. Finally, you may be hesitant to delegate because you fear advancement or you are concerned that advancement may occur too rapidly as you delegate tasks to others and free up your time to take on new responsibilities. The fear could be offset by reviewing the desirability of your roles and goals and the extent to which delegation will facilitate achieving those goals. 

A personal experience illustrates the effectiveness of creating a delegation culture. Coming from outside of an organization, I was hired as its executive. Shortly after arriving, I saw a de facto, two-class organizational structure. The 

Resist the temptation to over-prescribe how the delegated task should be carried out. That is, focus on the desired outcome and the resources available to achieve the outcome. Depending on what you know about the delegatee, delegate the task in such a way that you, the delegatee, the project, and the organization benefit from the potential novice effect. 

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As project leaders. Bearers desire to assume burdens makes them reluctant to delegate and share responsibility. They can thus find themselves too overworked to give proper attention to the longer term needs of their project. 

COMPLETER FINISHER Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time. Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. 

Potential employees should also have a minimum level of self-confidence, based on their experience with successfully overcoming obstacles and solving problems. Otherwise, they will be afraid to take even small risks and will almost certainly make poor supervisors because they will be reluctant to delegate authority. Self-confidence should not be confused with self-esteem the latter can arise from a false sense of accomplishment. Questioning candidates about how they have handled problem solving in the past should reveal whether or not their self-confidence is justified. Arrogance is a quality that has no value in building teamwork. 

Resources and Authority (4) All personnel believe they posses necessary authority and resources to meet their responsibiUties. (3) Majority of personnel believe they possess necessary authwity and resources to do their jobs. (2) Authority and resources spelled out for all, and some demonstrate a reluctance to use them. (1) Authority and resources exist, but most still controlled by supervisors. (0) Authority and resources come from supervision without any delegation. 

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