“To delegate”. The injunction is automatic when a manager begins to complain of an overload of work or stress and requests reinforcement from his N + 1, his HRD or his peers. “You’re bordering on burnout, delegate”, the scholars answer him in chorus, even before he has managed to explain anything. Here is the adviser making the rounds of the owner and revisiting the team: this employee is addicted to work. The other loves to learn. The third is nice. The fourth is so ambitious that it must be fed by increasing its workload. As for the fifth, “you are his model, you can make him do anything”. Lucky ! You even have an intern and an apprentice, what are you complaining about? It is obvious that the manager had not seen the problem from this angle and the fact of finding a solution for him, a priori interesting, risks isolating him even more or making him break down definitively. Because is it really the right remedy? There are 53% of managers on sick leave in 2022 (Malakoff Humanis barometer, June 2023), i.e. 12 points more than in 2021. I’m tired I’m tired of being exhausted I’m disgusted I can barely get up, sang the Rita Mitsouko. Delegating is an often inappropriate response: if it were so simple, how to explain that in 2019, 78% of managers felt more overwhelmed than in previous years (compared to 71%), 74% more stressed (compared to 69%) and 59 % more demotivated (compared to 52%, study/Ipsos and the Boston Consulting Group)?
EPISODE 1 – “Sorry, I’m in a meeting”: the hidden costs of managerial madness
Those cases where “delegating” is the wrong answer
Delegating does not mean controlling, cloning or getting rid of everything, and colleagues are not necessarily multidisciplinary, motivated and autonomous. The person chosen must have knowledge so that the manager does not have to go back (1st case). If delegating is wasting time, what’s the point? The time saved/reduced stress/increased productivity must be accounted for (2nd). Delegation is not recommended if the requested colleague is not at the level (no need to overwhelm him by unloading on his incompetence) or reluctant (3rd and 4th case). It is counter-productive if he is overloaded and it is impossible to remove tasks from him (5th). The manager must refrain from any request in emotional mode and without immediate retribution: this is undoubtedly one of the worst situations (6th). The employee will feel betrayed if he invests without reward in return; it is the risk of a resignation with great noise like #quitmyjob, with an absolutely deplorable viral brand image for the company and the manager held responsible for damage estimated at considerable sums. Forget certain profiles: lazy, too comfortable (“Dunning Kruger” effect) or on the contrary with a strong impostor syndrome which risks inhibiting (7th). Avoid competent heterodox, even innovative, in a structure that loves classicism (8th). Think about entrusting a task to the ambitious ready for anything, explaining to him that it’s “give and take” and that we keep an eye on him (9th). Finally, just think about delegating if it is not in the habits of the house (pyramidal and silo) and you risk losing your place for incompetence (10th case).
Delegate in good conditions
Admittedly, spending time training someone is time-consuming, costly and it is a bet on the future: it must then be planned for as soon as the employee is hired and organized quickly, to find multidisciplinarity on the one hand and increase the self-confidence of the other (1st case). Empower your troops, de-infantilize them and let them create solutions at test times: an “agile” mode with many possibilities (2nd). For the manager, knowing each person’s weaknesses and qualities via tests and especially regular meetings in order to reorganize tasks without sticking to the same patterns which can quickly become obsolete (3rd and 4th case). Accept the refusal of his colleague to take a delegation or to get more involved (5th). Impose certain profiles on management or HRD or stick to job descriptions (6th). Play collectively with the humility to bring the team together, listen to their proposals and have the courage to say their choices (7th). Follow and stay close to the person replacing, encouraging them and giving them feedback (8th). Accept failure and not pass it on to the other (9th). But if the delegation worked, promote his image and that of his team (10th case). First commandment: remember that to delegate, it takes at least two people.