Developing Your Empowering People
It’s very true that in many companies or organizations managers delegate responsibilities to other team members due to his or her own increasing responsibilities to be shouldered. A correct or we can say right person has to be identified and clearly mention their job requirements allowing them to participate and also inform other members about the change.
In the example “practicing the skill” Anne has delegated a project to putting together new departmental procedures manual by the end of the month to Mr. Ricky Lee. Since Ricky is already working on another project he asks Anne if this project could be delegated to Bill Harmon. Bill Harmon is working in this company for the past 3 years. Hence Anne approves Bill Harmon being reassigned as far as Bill knows the parameters of the project and what needs to be expected for the completion of this project. Now Ricky is preparing for his meeting with Bill regarding the assignment to be reassigned. It is very important to understand the capability of completing the project. Anne knew that Ricky was capable of completing the project given to him as Ricky believed that Bill was capable. Here Ricky did not analyze what Bill might be working on as Anne did not realize what Ricky might be working on. If there could be any alternate possibility of Ricky and Bill teaming up and complete the project of putting the procedures manual together, could cut down time by the work being divided among the two. I think Ricky should have taken up the project and found out a way to complete with the resources available and this keeps me wondering if Anne can depend on Ricky to take an extra mile or she has to look for someone else who could do the same. The question arises of whether Bill should have been in the room with Anne and Ricky to discuss what work might be given to him?

In clarifying the assignment, it is important that a delegator understand what they are asking someone else to do and to whom it will be given. Anne knew that Ricky was more than capable of completing the task. However, Anne did not consider what Ricky might already be working on. As a result, Ricky felt overwhelmed and repeated the mistake when he tried asking Anne if he could push it off on Bill. If Anne were to consider the other projects that Ricky may be working on or had asked him prior to making the assignment she could have gone directly to Bill or someone else in the organization that could handle taking on the project at the current time. Ricky believed Bill was capable, just as Anne felt Ricky was capable. Ricky failed to consider what Bill might also be working on. In this instance both Ricky and Anne failed to include Bill in on the reassignment of the task and in addition, ask Bill if there was anything he may be working on. If both Bill and Ricky were not motivated to take on the project it may be beneficial to assign both individuals to work on the project together to cut down on time. Considering some alternatives, it may have been possible that Ricky and Bill could have teamed up and completed the manual together by dividing up the workload, rather than one person trying to take on another project all together. The problem simply stemmed from Anne needing help with completing the manual project and so she delegated it out. Ricky should have taken the project and found a way to complete it using the resources and personnel available to him. Anne now is left to wonder if she can depend on Ricky or if she must look for someone else willing to take on more.
In delegating the task to Ricky, Anne should have been more descriptive in what the proper discretion should be. The only mention regarding discretion was when Ricky asked if Bill might be able to complete the project and Anne stated that she had concerns that Bill might not know what the expectations are. There are several thoughts as to what the appropriate lines of communication should have been in this situation. The question of wither Bill should have been in the room to discuss what work might be given to him? His three years of experience with the company seems substantial as stated in the article for him to understand the work entailed, yet it doesn’t specify if he might already be working on another project or what his expertise might be in.
Assuming that Bill is capable of completing the project, the next step for Ricky would be to meet with him and explain what needs to be done and any further expectations or details for the project. Employees should always be educated on why they are required to do certain projects or assignments. Ricky will need to ask Bill if he has any questions or concerns, this will give Bill an opportunity to share with Ricky if he has any prior tasks that might interfere with being able to take on the project. If Bill is able to proceed with the project, Ricky must make sure he communicates the expected results, timeline, and any specific parameters of the project.
One major component that will need to be addressed is Bill’s authority. So far it has not been clearly stated if Bill should complete this project without help from other employees who may be subject matter experts in the various steps of the negotiating process. Even if Bill is to complete the task on his own, Ricky should still inform employees that Bill might need to contact them with questions or inquiries. Ricky should let everyone in the group know that Bill will be handling this new project and the level of authority given to him to complete it. This will alleviate any boundaries with other employees that may stand in the way for Bill when trying to gather the appropriate information needed.
The timeline given to Bill to complete this project should contain some time blocked off to complete any revisions prior to the deadline. There must also be time to provide Bill with feedback on his performance for this particular project before the end completion date. If Bill is going to work on the project, then Ricky will need to establish the proper feedback channels.
Overall, effective delegation in the workplace is always a task that cannot be taken lightly. In order for any employee to properly complete a project, he or she will need to be given all of the details, expectations, and any authority needed to do so. In addition, the delegator assigning the work must always take the necessary steps of ensuring that individual has the time, experience, and skills necessary to complete the project. Furthermore, follow through is also a vital component within any project timeline. In addition to delegating, one must constantly check in to make sure the project is staying within timeline, budget, and to make sure the individual doing the work isn’t needing any help along the way. In our specific example, Anne should have double checked to make sure Ricky was able to complete the assignment and that his current workload would not interfere or prevent him doing so. This would have eliminated any possible issues or feelings of let down for either party and helped ensure the project be done adequately.

Week Three Team Assignment Learning Team Weekly Reflection | Read the “Developing Your Empowering People (Delegating) Skill” Skills Exercise at the end of Ch. 10 of Management. Discuss the scenario with your Learning Team. Consider the five behaviors described for delegating to determine how to handle the scenario. Prepare a 350- to 1,050-word paper detailing how your team would handle the situation described in the scenario. | How about we each post our individual answers on how to handle the situation described in the above scenario? Does 175-250 words for each of our individual answer sound good? Then how about we take all of our answers and put together one team answer? That should cover all possible ways. If this sounds okay to everyone how about a deadline of Friday night to post our individual answers to this thread and I can put together the team paper using all five posts. I could have an edited team paper posted by Saturday night so everyone can review and approve or suggest needed changes. Heidi O'Mahony PST
Sent from my iPhone