te work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a

Delegating....we all know we should do it, yet many of us find myriad reasons to avoid it. I even heard someone recently state that delegating is just a traditional management tool that doesn’t apply in his fast-paced world. He told me that he just wants everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed....without prompting.

Now that’s an interesting idea. Evidently he wants them to know exactly what to do without explanation, without a clear grasp of their level of authority or any confusion about roles. In other words, this manager wants a team of mind-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.

I’ll grant you that the ability to delegate work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a

pply in his fast-paced world. He told me that he just wants everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed....without prompting.

Now that’s an interesting idea. Evidently he wants them to know exactly what to do without explanation, without a clear grasp of their level of authority or any confusion about roles. In other words, this manager wants a team of mind-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.

I’ll grant you that the ability to delegate work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a

tly he wants them to know exactly what to do without explanation, without a clear grasp of their level of authority or any confusion about roles. In other words, this manager wants a team of mind-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.

I’ll grant you that the ability to delegate work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a

-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.

I’ll grant you that the ability to delegate work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a

te work is a management skill that has been dissected and taught for decades. It’s not old-fashioned, however, and it is still just as important to an organization’s success.

Ask yourself a few introspective questions:

1. Do I regularly hold on to tasks or assignments because it would take too long to train someone else?
2. Do I worry that, if I delegate priority assignments, I’ll be less valuable to the organization?
3. Do I find that my employees can’t handle the tasks I’ve delegated?
4. Do I tell myself that there are only one or two people on my team with the skills to handle delegated tasks?
5. Do I believe that a manager needs to be able to perform any task required of the work unit?
6. Have I been told that I tend to micro-manage tasks that have been delegated?
7. Do I “take back” delegated tasks when it’s clear that an employee won’t get it done on time?
8. Do I avoid delegating because