AC 1.1 Evaluate the benefits of delegation.

According to Murdock and Scutt (2001) the definition of management is getting work done through people. The ability to manage efficiently and effectively is therefore dependent one’s ability to delegate. The success of any individual occupying a managerial position is measured not by what the individual is able to produce but by what his/her team produces. This can be effected through delegation. There are many benefits to delegation for the delegator/manager, the delegate/employee and the organisation.
As a manager/leader it is important to take time to think about goals, not just activities. If it is done effectively delegating can relieve some of your stress and give you more time to do your job. Delegating can help enhance your credibility as a manager/leader. By allowing your employees new ways to show their responsibility, you get their respect and loyalty. It will also help to identify potential within your team.
According to Murdock and Scutt (2001) a manager should delegate the following: * Routine tasks * Interesting tasks * Tasks that others could possibly do better * Tasks that others might enjoy * Tasks that are good for an individual’s development * Time consuming tasks * Tasks for which you are not ultimately responsible.
Managers who delegate effectively also receive several personal benefits; most importantly, they have more time to do their own jobs when they assign tasks to others. Given the hectic nature of managerial work, time is a precious commodity. Effective delegation frees the manager to focus on managerial tasks such as planning and control. Delegating also gives you time as a manager to take on tasks that develop your own skills.
A manager is not the only one who sees the advantages of delegation. When you delegate you will teach your employees new skills and give them the opportunity to develop themselves and achieve their goals. This makes them more versatile and a more important part of your team. With a more highly skilled workforce, they have more flexibility in making assignments and are more efficient decision makers. Managers who develop their workforce are also likely to have high personal power with their staff and to be highly valued by their organisation. When you give an employee a task, it shows that you have trust and confidence in them. Having interesting and challenging work feels good, and being trusted to complete the job raises self-esteem. Having strong self-esteem can motivate your employees to accomplish everyone’s goals. Having interesting jobs or tasks in a team makes the work more enjoyable. When you give your employees more responsibility and authority, they will begin to use their own initiative and their imagination. This can lead to new ideas and solutions to problems that you may not have recognised and your team will feel appreciated.
Delegating will provide benefits for the organisation in which you work. You can increase efficiency by delegating tasks as it ensures that all of the tasks are completed. According to Angst and Boroweicki (2013) if you as a team leader do tasks that could be accomplished by your team members, you waste both your time and theirs. Furthermore when you delegate tasks to your team, you should move the tasks around to different members. This will increase the skills of everyone and the flexibility of your employees. This may prove important if one of your members falls ill and must be substituted with another. Delegating new tasks to team members also allows them to build contacts with others whom they do not normally work. This can lead to greater teamwork and communication networking. When you delegate effectively, you can make sure that everyone has an equal amount of work. The perceived fairness in spreading out the work will gain you respect from your team members. An important part in delegation is making sure that your employees understand why they need to accomplish their tasks. Explaining this need gives you the chance to relate the tasks to the goals of your organisation. This will help your employees understand your organisations objectives. If done effectively delegating tasks to employees can keep them interested and motivated. By demonstrating that your team uses everyone’s talents to the utmost, you will keep your employees happy.

According to Angst and Boroweicki (2013) irrespective of the amount of responsibility and freedom delegated by a manager to a team, the manager retains accountability for any problems that result. Delegating freedom and decision-making responsibility to a team absolutely does not absolve the manager of accountability. That's why delegating, whether to teams or individuals, requires a very ‘grown-up’ manager. If everything goes well, the team must get the credit; if it all goes horribly wrong, the manager must take the blame. This is entirely fair, because the manager is ultimately responsible for judging the seriousness of any given situation, including the risks entailed, and the level of freedom that can safely be granted to the team to deal with it.

AC 1.2 Explain how delegation can be used to empower others.
According to Miner (2006) delegating, as a coaching tool, is the act of assigning and entrusting assignments and responsibilities to others. Mullins (2010) argues that delegating isn't about giving people tasks to do. Tasks are the simple and short-term items of work to be done. Delegating is about having staff take on meaningful work such as projects, duties, and other important assignments. Mullins (2010) adds that as a manager you shouldn’t stop asking your employees to do tasks when needed, but you should recognise that it’s not real delegating.
According to Miner (2006) entrust is a key word in delegating: It means that you care about the results of what you delegate, and you're willing to provide the support needed to help the employee achieve those results. But you're going to let the employee do the assigned job. According to Miner (2006) you don't have to be hands-on for the right outcomes to occur, but neither are you uninvolved and unaware of what's occurring. Along with providing the right support comes spelling out clear expectations and maintaining employee accountability. This is what effective delegating means and what empowerment is truly all about. To empower your employees is to do three actions:

* Give employees the freedom to get a job done. * Provide employees with the right level of support to get the job done well, including information, training, resources, and so on. * Hold employees accountable to produce the outcomes needed.

All three actions go together as part of the process. Thus, when you delegate effectively, you empower your staff. Simply put, empowerment is delegation taken a step farther. In delegation, the supervisor is not only accountable for the results, but also assumes some responsibility since in most cases the delegated tasks most often are the job of the supervisor. Empowerment is the total, unmistakable passing on of responsibility to a person or team to accomplish a job or perform a process. As coach or supervisor, you maintain accountability for the overall outcome or results of the process.

The Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum is a simple model of leadership theory which shows the relationship between the level of freedom that a manager chooses to give to a team, and the level of authority used by the manager. As the team's freedom is increased, so the manager's authority decreases. This is a positive way for both teams and managers to develop. While the Tannenbaum and Schmidt model is in relation to delegation to a group of employees, the principle of being able to apply different levels of delegated freedom closely relates to the levels of delegation. There are three different types of delegation; the supervisor mode in which as a leader you give your team precise direction and closely monitor the situation in order to leave a small margin for error; the coaching mode in which as a leader you provide the resources and give support only when necessary and there is therefore a greater margin of freedom; and then there is ultra-delegation where you set broad goals or targets and give your staff complete autonomy.
Within my setting the delegation of duties depends largely on the abilities of the staff. With regard to paper work the staff have limited capability and therefore the supervisor mode of delegation is crucial. All the staff are expected to participate in the paper work but based on their limited abilities I closely monitor their progression and provide regular support. I enable them to progress by providing the resources and training that is necessary and I facilitate their ability to complete their paper work by giving them specific time to do so.
Furthermore I recognise the knowledge and experience of such a long standing team and continuously attempt to empower the staff by reminding them that although they may struggle with the completion of the paper work that they have an in-depth understanding of child development and a wealth of ideas for activities based on years of experience. When it comes to ideas for activities I use the ultra-delegation style of delegation in the sense that I give the staff complete autonomy, which is in itself empowerment. Employee empowerment has been defined in many ways but generally means the process of allowing employees to have input and control over their work, and the ability to openly share suggestions and ideas about their work and the organisation as a whole. When you delegate effectively you empower staff and Mullins (2010) states that empowerment makes greater use of the knowledge, skills and abilities of the workforce.

AC 2.1 Justify an appropriate process to follow when delegating work within your area of responsibility.
According to Angst and Borowiecki (2013) when delegating you need to consider six questions: who, what, when, where, why and how.
Choosing the right person for a task requires careful assessment of experience and abilities. Different tasks require different skills. For example in my role I may need someone who has years of experience in childcare and therefore has a good rapport with parents or someone who is newly qualified and has a good understanding of new legislation. It is important to consider the qualities of all employees and think about which individuals have the right skills, knowledge, abilities and attitude to take on the work.
As a manager, deciding what to delegate requires careful consideration. According to Angst and Borowiecki (2013) it is typically safe to delegate paperwork which can save you, as a manager, time and give an employee a better understanding of how a department runs; routine tasks that can give an employee an opportunity to better understand the workflow; tasks that offer learning opportunities.
Knowing when to delegate added responsibility is just as important as knowing what and to whom to delegate. If you are delegating a new task as a reward for improved work you should praise the employee whilst doing do. If the employee is still under a lot of pressure and you assign another task you should assure them they will have the time necessary to complete it.
Where is closely related to when in effective delegation. For example in my role I may choose to make the assistants aware of a supervisor’s new role or I may assign a task on a one to one basis to assess capability.
Why a manager should delegate is based on the benefits to the manager, the employee and the organisation.
How is the way in which you delegate and this can have as much influence on whether the employee succeeds or fails as the employee’s own abilities. Successful delegation requires the following steps: * Define the task - Confirm in your own mind that the task is suitable to be delegated. * Select the individual or team - What are your reasons for delegating to this person or team? What are they going to get out of it? What are you going to get out of it? * Assess ability and training needs - Is the other person or team of people capable of doing the task? * Explain the reasons - You must explain why the job or responsibility is being delegated. And why to that person or people? What is its importance and relevance? Where does it fit in the overall scheme of things? * State required results - What must be achieved? Clarify understanding by getting feedback from the other person. How will the task be measured? Make sure they know how you intend to decide that the job is being successfully done. * Consider resources required - Discuss and agree what is required to get the job done. Consider people, location, premises, equipment, money, materials, other related activities and services. * Agree deadlines - When must the job be finished? Or if an ongoing duty, when are the review dates? If the task is complex and has parts or stages, what are the priorities? Methods of checking and controlling must be agreed with the other person. Failing to agree this in advance will cause this monitoring to seem like interference or lack of trust. * Support and communicate - Think about who else needs to know what's going on, and inform them. Involve the other person in considering this so they can see beyond the issue at hand. Do not leave the person to inform your own peers of their new responsibility. Warn the person about any awkward matters of policy or procedure. * Feedback on results - It is essential to let the person know how they are doing, and whether they have achieved their aims. If not, you must review with them why things did not go to plan, and deal with the problems. You must absorb the consequences of failure, and pass on the credit for success.
According to Mullins (2010) delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. Within my role the more experienced and reliable the other person is, then the more freedom I can give. The more critical the task then the more cautious I need to be about extending a lot of freedom. It is important to choose the most appropriate style for each situation. For each example the statements are simplified for clarity; in reality you would choose a less abrupt style of language, depending on the person and the relationship.
In my role it is important also to ask employees what level of authority they feel comfortable being given. For example some employees have a better understanding of current legislation than others and therefore are more confident in tasks that are required by law. It is my responsibility to agree with them what level is most appropriate, so that the job is done effectively and with minimal unnecessary involvement from myself.

AC 2.2 Allocate and monitor work that you have delegated within your own area of responsibility.

Within my role as a daycare manager I have had to delegate certain tasks to the supervisors within each childcare room. One of these tasks was the completion of the weekly register and the monthly accident and incident reports.
I followed the steps of delegation as follows: * I defined the task, of completing the register and monthly reports, as one that did not necessarily need to be completed by a manager. * I selected the supervisor within each room as it gave them another form of responsibility, enhanced their understanding of some of the paper work completed by management and gave me as a manager more time for other duties. * I assessed the abilities of the supervisors and revisited their job description. Awareness of attendance and accidents/incidents within the room is clearly stated in their job description and I clarified with each supervisor that they understood this aspect of their role. * I explained the above points to the supervisors upon delegation of this task. * I discussed with the supervisors the results required, resources necessary and deadlines of the task in the sense that the weekly register is to be completed every Friday and the monthly accident and incident reports are to be completed on the last working day of each month. I also explained that this paperwork is to remain in the childcare office and to be completed in the childcare office for data protection. I explained that it is my role as a manager to ensure that they have the correct paperwork to fill in each week/month. * I stated that a manager would be on hand should they have any questions whilst filling in the paper work and that I would be informing the head of service about this new aspect of the supervisor’s role. * This is an ongoing task and is continuously monitored. It is my role as a manager to check that these pieces of paper work are being completed on a weekly/monthly basis. I run an open door policy and I am available for questions or advice whenever possible. I would have more formal, supervision meetings with each supervisor once a month to assess their work, give feedback and give them the opportunity to share any ideas or ask any questions.

AC 3.1 Review how well you delegated the task, based on the outcomes of the delegated task and feedback from others.
According to Mind Tools by meaningfully involving other people in a task, you develop those people's skills and abilities. Therefore next time a similar project comes along, you can delegate the task with a high degree of confidence that it will be done well, with much less involvement from you. Delegation allows you to make the best use of your time and skills, and it helps other people in the team grow and develop to reach their full potential in the organisation. Based on a test of how good a delegator I am (www.mindtools.com) I understand the principles of delegating, however, like to occasionally cut corners and follow the easy path. Mind Tools suggests that I be more proactive in my delegation strategy, and remember how important it is to involve staff and provide them with enough time and support to succeed.

Within my role I complete a very large amount of paper work. Delegating some of this paper work to the childcare supervisors freed up some of my time to allow me to focus on other tasks. I have taken on a new finance role within the company and delegating out some of my current paper work duties allowed me the time to gain training in finance and therefore progress as a manager.

One of the main reasons for delegating paper work duties was to enhance the skills of the supervisors so that anytime I am absent the main pieces of paper work, like the register and accident books, are still completed and up-to-date. I felt that I delegated these duties effectively in that I explained exactly what was to be done, how it was to be done, the reasons behind it and gave examples of the paper work. Having the open door policy worked very well in that it allowed for the supervisors to ask for help when they were having difficulties. The only obstacle to delegating this task, that I found, was that on several occasions I was having to chase the supervisors and remind them that the paper work needed completing. There are nine supervisors within my setting and throughout the first few weeks of this task each of them had to be reminded. This defeated the purpose of what I was trying to achieve which was more time from me to complete other tasks. In order to clarify if this was due to lack of clear instruction on my part as the delegator or lack of understanding on their part, I organised a meeting in order to get their feedback. The supervisors then explained that because it was a new task on top of their other duties that they needed time to introduce it into their regular work routines. I suggested that they work as a team and remind each other and this strategy worked. In discussion with the staff they also explained that due to adult: child ratios they also found it difficult sometimes to leave their respective rooms to fill in the paper work in the office. I explained that this was necessary for reasons of data protection and that it was their role as a supervisor of staff within a room to decide when the appropriate moment to step out to the office was. Furthermore I explained that as a manager it is my role to ensure that adult: child ratios are always maintained and should, for any reason, a supervisor be unable to leave the room that they should bring it to my attention. This is an ongoing task with ongoing obstacles and I continue to work with my team to ensure that all delegated tasks are achievable.

AC 3.2 Assess how you can improve your own ability to delegate to and empower others.
As a manager my biggest obstacle to delegating effectively is my belief that if you want something done right you should do it yourself. According to Mind Tools I am a micromanager. Micromanagement is a waste of my efforts and demotivates those below me. As a micromanager I take perfectly positive attributes, an attention to detail and a hands-on attitude, to the extreme. I feel driven to push everyone around me to success and by doing so I risk disempowering my team. Mind Tools suggests that I start by delegating small tasks first. Then, if my staff do a good job, delegate a little more; this should result in a virtuous circle. According to Mind Tools if I struggle with delegation I should try thinking about the alternative, if I hang on to every task that I do now, how will I ever progress?
As I have such a varied team, with regard to experience and qualifications, knowing which level of delegation to use with which team member is key to delegating effectively. When working with a childcare team I could be faced with three different people who require three different styles of leadership and delegation and this I find very challenging. As I am relatively new to management I feel that I am somewhat disadvantage and that hopefully my ability to know which type of delegation to use in which situation will improve with time. Furthermore although I try to empower my team by reminding them that they have years of experience sometimes it is all this experience that can work against me. Effective empowerment requires an open dialogue between the manager and the employee and this is something that, with certain members of my team, I struggle with as they do not appreciate someone younger than them and with less experience being in a position of authority. On the other hand empowering employees requires a great deal of trust by a manager. As the manager I must trust the employee will make decisions and accomplish assigned tasks in the same manner that I would if I were taking the actions. At times I can lack the confidence that my team will perform equally well to themselves, so I can hesitate to give up decision making authority to my team and risk the chance of wrong decisions being made.
A positive outcome can depend on how I actually hand over the task. I want to keep morale high and empower my team to ensure that my team readily accepts assignments from me, that work is completed to expectations and that I have more time for my own work. Effective delegation requires crystal clear communication so that people know precisely what is expected of them. It also requires letting go which is an aspect of delegation that I struggle with.
According to Mind Tools I could enhance my delegation skills by considering the following: * Establish checkpoints – Plan how I am going to ensure the work is being completed according to plan by establishing checkpoints at the end of project stages. I should manage the risk of mistakes occurring by being proactive and staying in the loop at key points within the project. * Delegate the results, not the process – Focus on the end result and, unless the person to whom I am delegating is inexperienced, allow her to determine how best to achieve it. If I dictate exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, I limit the learning potential and risk not taking proper advantage of the person's experience. * Define my role more clearly – Firstly by explaining how much support I’ll provide. Let my team know whether to wait for my instructions or make independent recommendations and decisions. Make sure my team understands whether independent initiative is mandatory. * Talk about consequences – I should inform my team of the consequences of both successful and unsuccessful results. What rewards can they expect if they do a great job? What will happen if they don't achieve the expected results?

REFERENCES

Mullins, L. J. (2010) Management and Organisational Behaviour. Prentice Hall, Financial Times.

Miner, J.B. (2006) Organizational behaviour. NY and London.

www.mindtools.com

www.businessballs.com

Murdock, A. and Scutt C. (2001) Personal Effectiveness. Institute of Management.

Angst, L. and K. J. Borowiecki (2013) Delegation and Motivation.