Delegation - big career chance or passing the buck?

Karl was only 19 when his boss handed him the baton to run a large project involving technologies he wasn't fully trained in. He immediately went to his boss to hand it back.

"I told him I didn't think I had the training or experience to have sole charge of the job. But he said the person who normally did the job was on holiday and they didn't have anyone else," he says.

Though the project went off without a hitch, Karl couldn't sleep for a week beforehand and had difficulty eating. "I dread them asking me to do it again," he says.

Most people go through their working lives believing delegation is a good thing. After all, if you don't delegate you're a control freak, right? And if you're not being delegated to, how can you learn and grow in your chosen career?

Though these observations are sound, sometimes delegation can be abdication, or even workplace bullying in disguise. How can you tell if a task being delegated to you is reasonable? What should you do if it isn't?

Jacqueline Parisi, a principal consultant for management training and consulting firm Right Management Consultants, says Karl's experience might be considered borderline bullying, and organisations like OSH will respond to that.

"The employee who suffers stress as a result of bullying that is delegation [in disguise] has a right and a responsibility to talk to OSH about it. The employer then has a responsibility to address it," she says.

However, Parisi says ineffective delegating is more common in New Zealand organisations than using delegation as a way of bullying or abdicating responsibility.

"Abdicating through delegation does happen. It is quite often a symptom of a highly political environment, public or private, and can occur within a culture of workplace bullying. But while I have seen it, people shouldn't assume that when they are being delegated to, abdicating is happening."

John Barclay, head of group human resources for the ASB Bank, says though some people abuse the ability to delegate, doing so doesn't help their careers in the long term.

"Some people delegate as a means of personal risk mitigation. But delegation doesn't usually achieve that because for most employers the person who was originally responsible for the task will still be accountable," says Barclay.

In other words, if Karl's customer project had major problems, any negative outcome would have been the fault of his manager or employer, and not Karl himself.

Barclay says delegating comes with certain responsibilities. "You have to retain a sense of ownership, and be able to decode whether or not the people you are delegating to have the time, authority, resources and capacity to do the task," he says.

Parisi says the kind of delegation that gets "bad press" is the kind that is handled ineffectively.

"Common mistakes include not providing enough guidance or support for the employee delegated to and not providing specific or measurable targets so that the person or team thinks they've completed a task when they haven't," she says.

Barclay says another common problem is when managers delegate, but do not pass on the authority or resources to get the job done.

Poor delegators are also inclined to pick the wrong people with the wrong skills, and others don't provide a reasonable timeframe. Many people have had this experience - the stressed boss on the phone at lunchtime and wanting to "delegate" a deadline that ends at 5pm that day because they "don't have time for it".

Where does this leave the employee? After all, approaching OSH is often seen as extreme measure by employees and employers alike.

Parisi says people can resist a delegation by telling the manager delegating that though they would like to do the task, they don't feel they have the right skills "at the moment" or that there isn't enough time.

The employee can suggest an alternative person for the task and ask for a plan to help them develop skills for future delegations. However if that approach is resisted, Parisi admits the employee has little choice but to attempt the delegation.

"It can be wise to document your concerns in an email first," she says.

Ewen Bell, head of recruitment for the IT firm Datacom, says responsibility can't be delegated, only authority. "We'd expect anyone to say no and complain or explain if they thought a delegated task didn't make sense. The employee should be able to do that with confidence; forthright talk is the key," says Bell.

Barclay says though people in junior positions may not feel able to resist a delegation, they should be able to question their capability in terms of skills, time and resource.

All three employers say much depends on overall business culture and whether or not the organisation has a "no blame" approach to people and task-management. In such a culture the ultimate responsibility for a task rests with the person or team that delegated it.

On the other side of the delegation debate, some employees are adversely affected by managers who won't delegate at all.

"Control freaks invite stress into their lives at a level they need not have. They stifle the development of those they are accountable for and they lose the support of colleagues because they will only act when they know the answers," says Barclay.

Parisi says control freaks can disempower a team to the point they will seek a new employer - morale drops and attrition rates go through the roof.

If there's one thing employers need to remember say the experts, it is to properly define what delegation is. "It is a request, not a demand," says Parisi.

Delegation

WHEN IT'S OK

* When you have been delegated a task that you are skilled to do, have the time to do, and have the resources and authority to do.
* When you know exactly what is expected of you and by when.
* When the delegation involves a task which is new and possibly a little stressful for you, but which will help to develop your career abilities.
* When you know that you can connect with the person who delegated you the task and ask them for advice or guidance if it is needed.
* When the reason for the delegation is clearly explained.

WHEN IT MIGHT NOT BE OKAY

* If you feel pressured or bullied or uncomfortable with the process and conditions of the delegation.
* If the person who delegated the task to you is unavailable for you to liaise with after the delegation.
* If you are told that if the task fails it will be "on your own head".
* If the delegation requires completion of a task within an unfair timeframe, or if you do not have the required resources or authority to meet the task.
* When you are not sure exactly what the task entails or what is expected of you.
* When the delegation will adversely affect work which forms part of an annual performance review, and against which your performance as an employee is measured.