Delegation in Sales Leadership
Do It SMARTER to Be Successful
“Since you're the delegate from Kansas
Will you kindly take the floor?
Now tell us, what is Kansas thinkin'?
What is Kansas for?”
from The Beehive State by Randy Newman
Delegation is a core element of successful leadership in companies large and small. Delegation is also a skill.
Good delegation saves time, develops people, grooms a successor, and motivates. It provides growth and development opportunities and allows a leader to focus on other priorities.
Poor delegation, on the other hand, will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. Delegation often fails for a number of reasons: lack of clarity, the preparation and resources available to the delegate, and choosing the wrong person in the first place.
As such, delegation is a management skill that's worth improving.
Let’s start with what to delegate. When deciding, use the same rule, you apply for goal setting: SMART or SMARTER.
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Agreed
4. Realistic
5. Time-bound
6. Ethical
7. Recordable
Then, have a clear understanding between yourself and the delegate. Because every time you delegate work, three core elements of the delegation are in play. (1) Authority, (2) Responsibility, and (3) Accountability form an integrated process and must be applied as a unified whole.
(1) Authority Can Be Delegated
As a leader, you can transfer pieces of your formal authority to another teammate when assigning a task to that person. In essence, you can deputize your teammate to take action on your behalf within the boundaries of the delegated (transferred) authority.
(2) Responsibility Cannot Be Delegated, but It Can Be Assigned
As a leader, you can assign responsibility to another teammate in terms of the results that need to be achieved. However, you need to keep in mind that you only assigned responsibility to your teammate. You can never entirely hand off any of your responsibilities to someone else. Assigned responsibility should be made in terms of the goals or results to be accomplished, not the detailed specifics for doing the job.
(3) Accountability
Accountability is the moral compulsion felt by a teammate to meet the goals and objectives of an assigned task. As a result of accepting a task assignment, your teammate, in effect, gives you a promise—either expressed or implied—to do their best in carrying out the activities associated with it. Having taken on the task, your teammate is obligated to complete it and thus is held accountable by you for the results produced.
BusinessBalls defines ten levels of delegation, resulting in different levels of freedom. It then adds: “It is important to ask the other person what level of authority they feel comfortable being given. Some people are confident; others less so. It is your responsibility to agree with them on what level of freedom is most appropriate so that the job is done effectively and with minimal unnecessary involvement from you.
Involving the other person in agreeing on the level of delegated freedom for any particular responsibility is an essential part of the 'contract' that you make with them.”
Level 1. 'Wait to be told' or 'Do exactly what I say' or 'Follow these instructions precisely.'
Instructions with no delegated freedom at all.
Level 2. 'Look into this and tell me the situation. I'll decide.'
This is asking for investigation and analysis but no recommendation. The person delegating retains responsibility for assessing options prior to making the decision.
Level 3. 'Look into this and tell me the situation. We'll decide together.'
This level of delegation encourages and enables the analysis and decision to be a shared process, which can be very helpful in coaching and development.
Level 4. 'Tell me the situation and what help you need from me in assessing and handling it. Then we'll decide.'
This opens the possibility of greater freedom for analysis and decision-making, subject to both people agreeing this is appropriate.
Level 5. 'Give me your analysis of the situation (reasons, options, pros, and cons) and recommendation. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead.'
Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.
Level 6. 'Decide and let me know your decision and wait for my go-ahead before proceeding.'
The other person is trusted to assess the situation and options. Additionally, they are deemed competent enough to decide and implement too; however, for reasons of task importance or perhaps externally changing factors, the boss maintains the control of timing.
Level 7. 'Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to.'
Now the other person begins to control the action. This subtle increase in responsibility saves time. The default is now positive rather than negative.
Level 8. 'Decide and take action - let me know what you did and what happened.'
This delegation level, as with each increase up the scale, saves even more time.
Level 9. 'Decide and take action. You do not need to check back with me.'
The most freedom that you can give to another person when you still need to retain responsibility for the activity. Feedback and review remain helpful and important, although the relationship is more likely one of mentoring, rather than coaching per se.
Level 10. 'Decide where action needs to be taken and manage the situation accordingly. It's your area of responsibility now.'
This is the most freedom that you can give to the other person.
And Amy Volas has very encouraging news: “Every single scaling company will reach a point where delegation is essential for future growth. When this happens, it can be hard to let go and allow other people to influence the future of your team, startup, or business. But if you can truly empower the brilliant people you've surrounded yourself with to offset what's bogging you down while providing them with a chance take on more, learn, grow, and thrive, the returns will be tenfold.”
Contracting an interim sales leader is an act of delegation. Talk to us and find out how we can make this successful.
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Derwin Dexter Sy – Why Is Delegation So Hard?
LeadingBlog - The 3 Core Elements of Delegation
BusinessBalls – Delegating: Authority Skills, Tasks and Effective Delegation
Amy Volas – Why Delegation Isn’t an Option, But a Necessity in Sales Leadership
Photo by Anne Gosewehr