THE ART OF DELEGATING (III)

The author Harold Koontz in his book "Administration: A global perspective" gives the following steps to delegate authority in an efficient way.

Determination to achieve expected results

You should clarify what you expect from your subordinate when delegating an activity or a specific job. When a person knows exactly what is expected of them, he will always try to achieve that result.

Assigning tasks to that position.

For the colleague to be successful, it is necessary that you assign the necessary tasks so that he can carry out all of the activities that the project demands. This is very important, as the list of tasks needs to go hand in hand with the position and the project.

Delegating authority to carry out certain tasks.

It is impossible for anyone to carry out a project or activity if they do not have the sufficient infrormation. Besides, when you delegate authority, make it known through various different means, so that people in the company know that you have authority on a determined project.

The responsibility of the person that occupies the position.

The authority that you delegate should match their responsibility so that the person feels that he has a certain amount of responsibility on his shoulders and he carries out the tasks. If there is any diversion in the execution of the tasks, he should expalin himself to his superiors.

Personal attitudes against delegating authority

Harold Koontz proposes the following personal attitudes that we should bear in mind when we have to delegate:

• Receptiveness

Allowing other people to put their ideas into practice, being able to accept other people's ideas, and also to colaborate with them, being able to congratulate them on their initiative and inventiveness.

• Being able to give in

Being able to give your colleagues the freedom to make decisions. Many of us have the habit of continuing to make decisions once we have delegated, which in reality, wastes time and attention and the decisions much more important.

• Letting others make mistakes

Koontz explains the following "nobody would let a colleague make a mistake big enough to harm the company or the colleague's position, however the persistant supervision of colleagues to guarantee that they don't make mistakes is impossible. You should allow your colleagues to make mistakes and the cost of these mistakes should be considered an investment in their personal development.

To minimize the risk of commiting mistakes, here are some important suggestions: offer consultancy in the initial stages, give detailed information about policies and objectives and have a question and answer sesion.

• Ability to trust colleagues

When you delegate authority, you need to be sure that the person that you are delegating will do their job well, that they will be determined to do a good job. You should trust everyone you delegate.

• Establish and apply wide controls

It is necessary that control systems exist that give us feedback on the development of different activities that we have delegated, so that we can take the necessary action when necessary.

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS HELP SUCCESFUL DELEGATION:

The author Koontz suggests the following in order to help the delegation process:

Define project and delegate authority according to the expected results, award sufficient authority to allow the fullfilment of assigned goals.

Select the right people for the right job.

Maintain lines of communication open. Descentralization should not lead to isolation, delegation depends on the situation.

Establish adequate controls

Award efficient deleation and successful assumption of authority.

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