Delegation is a Science (and an Art) - Parts I & II

by Bill Zelazny, District Executive

Part I

Delegation by congregation leaders can strengthen a congregation. It can improve decision making, help members become connected with the church and invested in its success, train future leaders, and keep congregation officers and the minister from burning out. However, if not handled well, congregation leaders can be caught up in confusion, frustration, anger and get poor results.

Susan Beaumont, an Alban Institute senior consultant, says proper delegation is having a balance between three critical elements:

Responsibility - knowing what is to be done and accepting the duty to perform a task or activity.

Authority - the formal and legitimate right of someone to make a decision, issue a directive, or allocate resources on behalf of the congregation

Accountability - reporting and justifying outcomes and are appropriately rewarded or corrected.

Delegating a task or project can fail if:

The responsibility is not defined. The individual is not clear about what they are specifically to do and how it fits into the whole organizational structure or event.

The wrong level of authority is assigned. Too little or too much authority is given, or the assignee becomes heavy handed and takes responsibility for things not intended.

Accountability is not maintained. There are no consequences for nonperformance, or the person performs the task successfully, but there was no recognition for a job well done.

When should delegation be done? It is proper to delegate when:

Tasks can be done better by someone else.

Tasks are time critical and a leader may not have time at the moment to get the job done

Tasks are not central to the delegator’s role. A leader should never delegate a task that is central to their role. To do so is to shirk responsibility

Finally, successful delegation ensures the tasks are:

Of appropriate difficulty - person to whom you are delegating should feel challenged but not overwhelmed.

A mix of pleasant with any unpleasant - Unpleasant tasks should be rotated fairly.

Part II

Part I discussed some of the elements of delegation – responsibility, authority and accountability, when delegation should be done and some potential difficulties that can result from bad delegation. Delegation can strengthen a congregation by improving decision making, connecting members and preventing burning out.

Susan Beaumont, an Alban Institute senior consultant, offers some suggestions for effective and successful delegation:

• Plan to delegate. Spend enough time with the person on the delegated task. You may feel you are spending more time supervising the work than just doing the task yourself, but be patient and persistent. The investment of time and energy will be good for the congregation, the individual and you in the long run.
• Assign the task well.
  1. Explain the purpose of the job completely so that the person understands the big picture
  2. Specify responsibilities clearly and explain the expected results, priorities, and deadlines.
  3. Specify the level of authority and the limits of discretion, including funds and other resources that can be committed.
  4. Specify reporting requirements. (5) Ensure acceptance of responsibilities by having the person describe back to you, in his or her words, what has been decided upon.
• Monitor the assignment.
  1. Inform others who need to know about the delegation.
  2. Arrange for the person to whom you delegated the task to receive necessary information on a timely basis.
  3. Check in with the person at the times that were agreed upon.
  4. Be available to provide coaching and answer questions where appropriate.
  5. Accept the fact that there is more than one way to get at any given problem, and allow the person latitude in her or his choice of how to proceed.
• Handle the results appropriately.
  1. Only receive quality, completed work and allow enough time to check it through thoroughly.
  2. Provide support and encouragement, but avoid reverse delegation, that is do not let the person leave the recommendation for you to figure out.
  3. Treat mistakes seriously but avoid shaming or blaming.
  4. Reward the effort if/when it is well done.