Submitted by jocadl on
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Hi all,
I know this isn't very specific, but wanted to collect some thoughts on "environmental"/cultural factors that can hinder successful delegation. I have just recently caught up on the "basics" podcasts in this area, like the Juggling Koan (very nice).
I used to have managerial responsibility in a fast-paced, extreme-growth, maximum-trust environment. In my current workplace, however, delegation isn't very commonly done except for the smallest of tasks (say, preparing a slide deck for a single meeting). And then when it's done, it always seems fairly "fuzzy" for me, superficial, with no clear expectations/rapport.
I attribute this to a corporate culture which is generally very risk-averse, with low tolerance for mistakes, value for processes over outcomes, and generally little trust in individual contributors. What baffles me most is the expected attention to detail: even quite seasoned senior managers have to be prepared to answer the most detailed of questions on projects or initiatives in their area of responsibility; any time, ad-hoc, in the hallways, to a level of detail that could never be contained pro-actively in, say, weekly status reports or e-mails. Deferring to members of staff for details is seen as weakness.
In such a climate it seems like asking a lot to delegate anything meaningful to directs, doesn't it?
In my current organization, I had a small team a while back. I have delegated, but it took a lot of extra nerve and sweat because I was frequently put on the spot for ad-hoc details. And when I'm thinking about moving up the ladder, it sure seems difficult to run a department with dozens of people in that culture -- without eventually becoming a complete control freak.
Does this make sense as an observation? What do others think? Which "cultural factors" work in favor, or adversely, when aiming for successful delegation?
Sorry for the long post. Tough subject...
Thanks
Jochen
I understand, but still no...
I think you're right that it's a risk averse place. That's too bad - all kinds of potential left untapped, and productivity is relatively low, though I suspect they don't know it.
But it still doesn't seem to me that it's "asking too much" for you to delegate to your directs. You're responsible for the management of your team. There's risk in doing so, yes. Perhaps more risk than in your previous firm. But there's risk in not doing so as well - lost productivity, missed opportunities, unrealized new plans and ideas.
So, pick your poison. nobody (but me ;-) ) is going to fault you for not delegating under the circumstances. Remember, whatever you do, not to blame YOUR decisions about YOUR management of YOUR team on the company's culture.
Culture is nothing more than the aggregate of all the behaviors in an organization. Every manager creates their own management culture in their area.
Mark
(Please don't read this as me being prepared to be disappointed if you don't delegate. I can't know how truly bad the "culture" is, or how significant your fears are. Whatever you do, do what you think best. - H)
Delegate but be more strict on reporting
Your description sounds similar to some places I've worked.
I would suggest delegate as much as you can but emphasise the reporting side more. Maybe require a regular 'progress update and key points' report back. Could be a daily email in a set format to allow you to digest the information quickly or, if your team is quite small and in the same place, maybe a daily 10-15 minute stand-up meeting where everyone reports back their progress and key points, 2 minutes each.
Stephen
--
Skype: stephenbooth_uk | DiSC: 6137
"Start with the customer and work backwards, not with the tools and work forwards" - James Womack
Do you work in
Do you work in pharmaceuticals? Your organization sounds a lot like mine.
Thanks
Thanks for your thoughts!
@Stephen: That's one of the things I've learned and am still trying to optimize. Reporting now has to be more qualitative, more verbose, more detail-oriented (with typical prompts like "tasks accomplished", "tasks planned for next period", "problems/issues/risks"); while in my previous work environment(s) it could remain more quantitative, shorter, more status-oriented (a table of tasks with "% complete" and "estimate complete date" would do it).
And no, I'm in financial services. Go figure ;-)
Thanks Mark
Re-reading this thread I was shocked to find out I forgot: Thank you, Mark. Your helpful attitude and eagerness to share knowledge and experience are amazing and an inspiration. And your remark on culture, and everyone's individual role in it, was a welcome and timely reminder.
I'm proud that I can be a part of this community.
Bye
Jochen
Hi Jochen, The way I would
Hi Jochen,
The way I would look at it is very simple, if others doesn't delegate (much), you have a chance to not only show your management skills, but also far exceed others.
Have you had any negative experience with delegation yet? If delegation is not your nature you would tent to set up barrier's, I know from expierence in very High C enviroments that this can be hard, but try and even if you get a few push backs, continue. Start with the smaller basic stuff.
My view is that a job as a manager is to get the most out of your people, whatever culture your company have. In the end when you show great performance and results people will respect your choice.
Kind Regards
Mads Sorensen
Disc 4536
Delegation in an Adverse Environment
I work in government, with lawyers which must be the definition of risk averse environments. As an example, to burn a CD for a presentation you need to have the ok from somebody who is the equivalent of a Brigadier General.
Even so, I agree with Mark. When in doubt delegate, BUT you need the right people - in effect what you are offering is a compact - The employee is empowered to do things and get personal control and mastery (Thanks Dan Pink) in return the Manager can achieve more with his/er team. The secret is to start small, expand rapidly and demand excellence.
Alex
What helped in a similar
What helped in a similar environment for me was to work out (together and within my DR team) some basic standards of delegation / reporting.
What I mean by this is being clear what you expect as an outcome, support when there is a lack of experience/knowledge and giving plenty of feedback, if the behavior is not effective (i.e. people go in too much / too little detail, give unclear answers, skip deadlines).
I agree with Mark here, that one starts with his own area, and the more followers embrace this effective way of work, the better for the organisation and each of its units.
Marcin