The Art of Management and Delegation

Module 8

Learning Objectives

• Define delegation.

• Discuss the role of delegation of tasks to assure best laboratory practices.

• Describe some situations when delegation is appropriate.

• Describe some situations when delegation is not appropriate.

• Lab managers routinely ask technologists and technicians to perform some tasks.

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to :

Definition of Delegation

• The act of empowering to act for another (1)

or

• Action of delivering or assigning a thing to a person or to a purpose; appointment or commission of a person as a delegate or representative; the entrusting of authority to a delegate.(2)

The Laboratory Organization

The Manager’s job is to:• To accomplish goals• With people• Using resources effectively• In a quality organization

Quality Improvement Projects often require delegation of tasks to staff.

What is Delegating?

Delegating involves working with an employee toestablish goals, granting them enough authority andresponsibility to achieve the goals, and giving them:• Substantial freedom in deciding how the goals will be achieved

• Remaining available as a resource to help them achieve the goals

• Assessing the quality of their effort and attainment of the goals

• Addressing performance issues and/or rewarding their performance

Ultimately, the Lab Manager retains responsibility for reaching the goals, but

chooses to achieve the goals by delegating to someone else

*A critical skill for supervisors at any level.

Two main types of delegation exist:1) Delegation of ongoing task as part of job

description or job assignments.

2) Delegation of tasks from a project within a specific timeframe.

Delegation

Definitions

• Authority: (noun): power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior or freedom granted by one in authority

• Responsibility: (noun) moral, legal, or mental accountability, reliability or trustworthiness.

Challenges & Opportunities

• Delegation can be a major challenge for new Lab Managers to learn because:– they are concerned about giving up control or

struggling to have confidence in the abilities of others

• Manager that can effectively delegate can accomplish goals and outcomes that meet best laboratory practices within a quality system.– E.g. quality improvement projects as part of Process

Improvement

Delegation

Delegating offers employees an opportunity to:

• cultivate expertise in learning

• develop their own leadership skills… skills that are critical for problem solving, goal attainment and learning

What Can’t Be Delegated?

• Disciplinary actions for staff

• Collection of sensitive management information such as discipline or personnel files

• Other tasks that are specific to the manager’s educational level or qualifications

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

1. Delegate the whole task to one person.a. This gives the person complete responsibility

for doing the task

b. Increases the person’s motivation to do the task

c. Provides more focus for the supervisor when working with the person to understand what the desired results should look like.

2. Select the right person to delegate to.a. Assess skills and capabilities of the person to be

sure that individual can accomplish the task

b. Does he/she have the knowledge, skills and abilities to do the task?

c. If not, the person might need training

d. Or, perhaps the task should be delegated to someone else.

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

3. Clearly specify the preferred results.a. Give information on what the results should look like

b. Why those results are desired

c. When the results should be accomplished

d. What resources the person has to work with

e. You might leave the “how to accomplish the task” to be decided by the person. It is often best to write this information down.

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

4. Delegate responsibility and authority – assign the task, not the method to accomplish it.

a. Let the person complete the task in the manner that he/she chooses (as long as the desired results are what the supervisor specifies)

b. Let the person have strong input as to the completion date of the project

c. Make sure other lab staff understand that this person has both the responsibility and the authority to complete the task

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

5. The Manager should ask the person to summarize back to him/her, a description of the results preferred.

a. The manager should explain the request of the summary to be sure that he/she effectively described the end results to the person

b. This explanation helps the staff person to not feel as if he/she is somehow being treated as if he/she is untrustworthy

6. Get ongoing non-intrusive feedback about progress on the projecta. Request written status reports

b. Reports should describe what he/she did last week, plans to do next week, and any potential issues that might arise

c. During regular meetings with the person, provide feedback

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

7. Maintain open lines of communication. a. Do not hover over the person to monitor his/her

performance

b. But do sense what he/she is doing and do support the person’s checking in with you while doing the task

c. Ask for verbal and possible written progress updates

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

8. If the progress is behind schedule, the supervisor should not do the task! a. Continue to work with the person to ensure that

he/she perceives the task is his/her responsibility

b. Look for the cause of your dissatisfaction

*Is it lack of communication, training, resources or commitment of the person?

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

9. Evaluate/reward the person’s performance a. Evaluate achievement of desired results more than

the methods used by the person

b. Address insufficient performance and reward successes

How to Delegate for Growth and Performance of Employees

• Delegate tasks at times when productivity is likely to be high such as earlier in the week as opposed to end of the week

• Be available to answer questions and discuss progress

• Be generous with praise for well-executed jobs

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid thinking that it is too much trouble to delegate responsibility. Delegating will pay off over time if the task needs to be done again and again

• Delegating a task doesn't mean you are no longer responsible for seeing that it's completed

Tips & Warnings

If a manager is having trouble getting the lab staff fired up about Improvement Projects,

employee motivation is a key to individual performance,

group productivity, and maintaining a pleasant

laboratory culture

Tips for Motivating Employees

• The manager’s attitude is contagious • Communication is key to making staff feel

included in major decisions • More important, staff knows that they were

part of the process and that their voices mattered

• Employees are more motivated when they feel needed, appreciated, and valued

24

Tip 1: Set a Good Example

Tip 2: Focus on Employee Happiness

Rather Than Employee Motivation

• Employee performance, productivity, and motivation can all be tied to how invested a worker feels in his or her company

Tip 3: Make Sure Employees Share

in the Company's Success

• Laboratories should create conditions for employees to find the joy in work itself

Tip 4: Create a Culture of

Autonomy and Agency

Tip 5: Encourage Staff toVoice Complaints

• Staff can be asked to volunteer to decorate a bulletin board and put pictures of each lab staff on the board (you can ask for a new volunteer for each month)

• Staff can be asked to volunteer to present a case study at a staff meeting

Tip 6: Give Staff Fun Volunteer

Assignments

• At staff meetings a manager can ask for a volunteer or two to devise a 5 minute workout for all staff and have everyone participate at the same time everyday (or an energizer)

Tip 7: Start with an Energizer

or Ice-Breaker

Its all in the details:• Offer inexpensive snacks one day a week or every

other week with a note card with a favorite quote

• Post a note on the bulletin board to ALL STAFF: “Thanks for your dedication to patient healthcare”

“I appreciate your expertise and professionalism”

Managing People:How to Build Morale & Dedication

Positive Comments Motivate

Everyone likes to feel needed and valued

Saying “Thank You” is one of the nicest complements that staff can get.

Summary

Delegation involves a manager helping anemployee to perform a task or assignment

based on goals, granting them enough authority and responsibility to achieve the goals and monitoring for progress until the

task is finished.