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Angry with myself
I recently delegated a task to a colleague and he made a mess of things. But it is not his fault. I forgot that seniority does not equate to experience and I failed to provide him with the necessary guidance to succeed at the task.
I am not angry at him.
I am angry at myself for forgetting to do what I preach — to ask the following four questions before delegating.
- does he have the knowledge and skills to do the task, and hence have the chance to succeed
- what type and how much supporting resources do I need to give him to get the task done
- how long will the task take; and
- how much supervision (or guidance) do I need to provide give him
Delegating effectively, requires the leader to first know how to do the task. This is an important, but often forgotten step, as only by knowing how to do the task will the leader then know the answers to the above four questions. If a leader delegates without knowing the answers, then the leader is not delegating but passing the buck. And, the chance of the task failing is high.
Effective delegation therefore not only requires the leader to know his job but to also know his people.
As a side note, it is also important to note that seniority does not equate to experience. A person can spend 10 years doing one task over and over again, and a person can spend 10 years doing many related tasks. The former is seniority, while the latter is experience. Conflating the two is dangerous.
