When, What and Why to Delegate to Your Employees

1. When, What and Why to Delegate to Your Employees April 13th, 2011 Presenter: Andrew Sanderbeck Waynesville, North Carolina PCI Webinars www.peopleconnectinstitute.com

2. Foundation of Learning Share your experiences. They provide valuable insight. If you are doing something that gets the results you want, keep doing it. Take the information you learn here and put it into your own style.

3. Goals and Objectives • Are You Delegating Enough? • Why People Choose Not to Delegate • What You Can and Can’t Delegate • Who Should You Delegate To? • Preparing for Your Delegation • Communication – Before/During • Assessing the Results of the Delegation • Demonstrating Appreciation

4. Polling Question #1 I am expected to delegate work to others in my library True False

5. Are You Delegating Enough? Delegation is the administrative technique in which supervisors give their employees the authority to accomplish an assigned task. To determine if you are delegating enough work, ask yourself this question: "Could the library get along without me if I had to be away for three months?" If you answered yes, then you are doing a good job delegating.

6. Delegation Quiz – Yes/No 1. Do you work extended hours trying to catch up?  2. When you delegate an activity, do you merely say "Do it?"  3. Do you take work home evenings and weekends?  4. Do you postpone long-range projects?  5. Do you lack confidence in your subordinates' abilities? 

7. Delegation Quiz – Yes/No 6. Is the work on your staff below your expectations?  7. Does your staff have low morale?  8. Are all decisions deferred to you from your staff?  9. Has your staff stopped presenting their ideas to you?  10. Do operations slow down when you're away? 

8. Why People Choose Not to Delegate

9. Why People Choose Not to Delegate • Impatience; it takes longer to explain it others than to do it themselves • Think a project can't be done properly unless they do it • Prior bad experiences • Guilt and social conditioning • Obsessed with perfection from setting standards that are too high • Lack of confidence in staff • Insecurity; fear of not getting credit for a job well done; staff may appear to know more

10. Polling Question #2 I understand that delegating can be beneficial for both the supervisor and the employee Yes No

11. What Can You Delegate?

12. What Not to Delegate • Activities with poorly defined objectives • Managerial functions such as team-building, budget approval or employee development • Decision-making involving objectives of the library or department • Decision-making involving interdepartmental or library-wide relationships

13. What Not to Delegate • Tasks that deal with confidential information • Performance evaluations • Resolution of staff disputes • Personnel matters • Disciplining, praising or thanking employees

14. Who Should You Delegate To?

15. Oh NO!!! – Theory! Teacher Expectations, Student Achievement. The concept is simple. If a teacher enters a school year knowing ahead of time that one of his students misbehaves and is lagging behind his classmates academically, the teacher will expect poor performance from that student.

16. Oh NO!!! – Theory! This same concept can be applied to delegation as Employer's Expectations, Employee's Achievement (EEEA). By using this line of reasoning, employees will rise to your level of expectation for them.

17. Prepare for Delegating • Objectives • Background information • The employee's level of authority - Should the employee attain approval at various stages in the project? • Should the employee be able to act independently but be required to up-date you at specified time intervals? • Resources available • Communication • Training

18. Communicate with Designated Employee Through a Meeting Some key things to consider when communicating the project are: Demonstrate enthusiasm and confidence Be specific in directions Avoid giving too many unnecessary details Don't assign a new project at the end of a workday Don't give too many directions at one time

19. PROJECT WORKSHEET

20. Meet and Communicate Regularly When appropriate, schedule regular meetings with your employee to discuss the assignment or task. You must take the time to meet with staff and assess the status of the project. With less experienced staff, it is critical to schedule deadlines.

21. Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance The final outcome: • Is it of high quality? • What would you change if you completed the project again? • What were the most successful elements of the project?

22. Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance Their performance in handling the project: • Was the assignment too easy? Too difficult? • What will the employee do differently next time?

23. Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance The support, feedback and direction received from the supervisor: • Did the employee receive adequate support? • Feedback? • Direction?

24. Assess the Results and the Employee's Performance Resources: • Did you have adequate time? • Support from other staff? • Were the materials adequate?

25. Demonstrate Appreciation

26. Polling Question #3 I learned at least one thing today that I can immediately apply in my delegations! Yes No

27. Thanks for Attending Decision Making Series #2: Developing Options for Making the Best Decisions Thursday, April 20th at 1:00 pm