How to solve management problems in delegation? - Part 2

This chapter is a continuation of previous chapter “How to solve management problems in delegation - Part 1”

When they are not able to handle the task

Sometimes your team members will struggle to deliver tasks, and the true reason might be unclear. In such cases, you can neither blame yourself for your delegation skills nor your subordinates for the circumstances. For instance, you might have overlooked the schedule, miscalculating the time required for the task and the bandwidth available to your team. You may have misjudged a subordinate’s skills, assigning tasks to the wrong person. Your team member might lack experience or clear guidelines. External factors can also play a role—a subordinate falling ill and missing a deadline, or someone getting into a minor accident, derailing the delivery plan.

Who should we blame in such situations? As you’re trying to improve your delegation skills, expecting near-perfect performance from your subordinate at the outset is unrealistic. Your subordinate may lack the necessary skills to deliver, so setting overly high expectations is unwise. Moreover, who can be held responsible for unforeseeable circumstances?

When you sense that a team member is struggling with a task, intervene promptly at the first signs of difficulty. Try to address issues early before they escalate. Give your subordinates additional time to complete their work and extend deadlines if necessary. Support them with coaching and training materials, and lead by example. If you believe you’ve made an error in assigning the task, consider reassigning it to someone else or, as a last resort, doing it yourself.

If time allows, let subordinates experience setbacks and use these incidents as coaching opportunities to prepare them for future tasks. Additionally, reflect on your own delegation skills to identify areas for improvement and necessary changes for future assignments.

When they are not able to work with some other people

Sometimes you’ll find that strong individual contributors struggle to work with others for various reasons. For example, they might have difficulty communicating with people from other departments, or there could be an invisible turf war among teammates due to overlapping responsibilities. In some cases, roles within a group aren’t clearly defined, causing confusion among subordinates. Alternatively, someone might have been given authority without notifying the rest of the team.

Another challenging situation arises when you put someone with a flawed personality in charge—someone who’s abusive, disrespectful, and rude. If everyone wants to avoid this person, expecting them to lead a team becomes problematic.

In these situations, start with introspection and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Have you provided clear instructions to different departments and established rules of engagement and mutual expectations?
2. Have you given clear authority to an individual and notified everyone about their changed role, responsibilities, and powers?
3. Have you clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of individuals working in a group and set clear boundaries?
4. Do you need to intervene if the situation demands it?
5. Does the individual have the required skills to complete the task, or do they need coaching and supervision?
6. Has this individual received training on sensitive matters such as giving feedback and conducting performance reviews? Does this person treat others with humility?

Once you’ve identified the problem, finding a solution becomes much easier.

When they keep coming back to you

Sometimes you’ll find subordinates repeatedly coming back to you for approvals on almost everything, defeating the purpose of delegation. They may also try to “reverse delegate,” offloading some of their work back to you. You might grow frustrated with these frequent interactions and start thinking it would be easier to do the task yourself rather than invest more time and energy managing your subordinates.

If this happens, commit to not taking back the task. Resist the temptation to do it yourself, even if it seems faster than managing the individual. Instead, analyze why this person keeps returning to you and address that specific issue. Have you given them enough authority and permissions? Do they lack confidence and fear making mistakes? Do they need coaching, training materials, or other guidance?

When they feel they are being micromanaged

This is a tricky situation, not because it’s difficult to solve, but because it’s challenging to identify. No subordinate will tell you that you’re being too bossy or overly involved without risking backlash from their leader. They’ll never say they want to be left alone or that they don’t want to be micromanaged. Conversely, you’ll never know if your engagement level is just right, too much, or too little. You might think you’re helping your subordinate, while they’re figuring out how to get rid of you to work in peace. Moreover, different people require varying degrees of engagement, some people might use more guidance from you than others, so no single solution works for everyone—making things even more complicated for a leader.

Before we explore solutions, you may want to read “How to decide your engagement level in delegated tasks?” This is particularly helpful when you’re familiar with your subordinate’s skills, have past working experience with them, and know how much to trust them with delegated work.

When working with new team members whose skill and commitment levels are unknown, start on high moral ground. Show full trust in their abilities and assume they’re competent enough to work independently once tasks are delegated. As you conduct follow-up meetings, assess their responses and outcomes. Based on their performance, determine your next steps. Were your initial assumptions correct? Do they need coaching or guidance if they’re struggling? Should you increase or decrease your level of involvement?

When they need to be chased consistently to get updates

Sometimes after delegating a task and instructing a subordinate to report back upon completion, you may find they never return unless prompted about their progress. If this situation recurs, consider improving your delegation skills rather than faulting the subordinate’s proactivity.

To address this, first, cease random check-ins and establish formal follow-up or checkpoint meetings. During these sessions, discuss progress and assess whether deadlines are on track. Don’t allow team members to submit late or subpar work. If deadlines are missed, require explanations and make it clear that such behavior is unacceptable.

Additionally, when scheduling the next follow-up meeting, set clear expectations and targets. Ensure the subordinate confirms their understanding of the deliverables and formally accepts responsibility for completion.

When they keep making excuse that they misunderstand instructions

During follow-up meetings, you may often find that the delivered work significantly differs from your expectations. When asked to explain, team members might respond, “I thought you meant this when you gave instructions.” This situation can be frustrating, especially when you’ve invested considerable effort in providing clear, easy-to-understand instructions, and the team members have acknowledged their understanding of the task and what needs to be done.

View this as an opportunity to enhance your delegation skills rather than blaming others for misunderstanding your instructions. First, make written communication your primary information source. When delegating tasks, provide a written manual instead of relying solely on verbal instructions. While verbal communication can complement written instructions, it should never replace them. Additionally, offer as much detailed information as possible to minimize the need for subordinates to make decisions independently. Provide comprehensive design themes and product mockups to guide their work.

The second crucial step is to have them explain their understanding of the task. Often, people claim they know what needs to be done, but their definition of “done” may differ from yours. They might have made incorrect assumptions or envisioned unlikely scenarios. To manage these assumptions, ask them to explain their understanding of the task, including execution steps, priorities, and deadlines. As they explain, watch for signs that indicate whether they’re on the right track. If necessary, provide corrective guidance to ensure alignment with your expectations.

When they keep missing deadline in follow up meetings

In follow-up meetings, you’ll often find some subordinates consistently missing deadlines. Even when you’ve done everything right—designing tasks, providing clear instructions, allowing ample time, assigning mentors, offering training materials, and doing your utmost to ensure successful delegation—certain individuals still fail to deliver. They’ll continually make excuses, and if you address one issue, they’ll present new ones at the next meeting.

Prioritize these individuals. Never skip follow-up meetings with them; in fact, consider increasing their frequency. Quickly address any reasons they give for non-delivery by plugging those loopholes in your process. When conducting group meetings, start with these people first.

Over time, these individuals will either realize they have no choice but to deliver their work and can’t easily evade poor performance, or they’ll leave the team. Both outcomes are favorable.

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