Introduction
Who’s got the monkey? Everyone has a monkey to bear. William Oncken and Donald Wass in their classic Harvard Business Review article, Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey, described delegation as getting the “monkey off your back”; leaders ridding themselves of tasks that could be managed by their teams. You were probably feeling a little confused as you began to read this article. The confusion you were experiencing, the feeling of being lost, is the experience of some leaders when it comes to the practice of delegation. Leaders question how to delegate, what tasks should be delegated, and who they should delegate tasks to. Discerning the number of people, amount of time, and effort needed to take care of a task can make delegation difficult. Ultimately, this is why Oncken and Wass use the analogy of taking care of monkeys to describe delegation. Each monkey/task is a little different, but what is most important, is that someone is responsible for taking care of the monkey/task. There are many reasons why some leaders struggle with the practice of delegation. For some, passing along tasks to direct reports feels like a display of inability and insufficiency. However, the practice of delegation could not be further from the truth.
The Truth about Delegation
The practice of delegation is an act of team empowerment. It is a leader showing they appreciate their team members and value their skill sets. Delegation is an opportunity for teamwork and cultivating an effective working relationship. Leaders delegate not because of their inability to complete a task but because they believe in a team member’s ability to contribute. Research clearly outlines the benefits of delegation for leaders as well. Leaders who delegate can better prioritize tasks, are more productive, experience increased engagement with their team, and are better at fostering a team’s alignment with organizational goals. So, with all these benefits, why not delegate? For some leaders, there may be some confusion about when to delegate tasks. Luckily, there are considerations leaders can make that will help with deciding when to delegate a task and get that monkey off their back.
Deciding to Delegate
President Dwight D. Eisenhower developed an approach to prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance, the Eisenhower Matrix. To effectively prioritize tasks, it is essential to understand what urgent and important tasks mean. Urgent tasks require immediate attention. Important tasks are ones that could have significant consequences for organizational goals/projects. A key consideration to understanding the Eisenhower Matrix is that important tasks can have varying levels of urgency. For example, let’s consider highly important tasks with a high level of urgency. These are considered “Do” tasks since they have to be completed now (urgent) and could have significant consequences (important). By considering a task’s level of importance and urgency, a leader can decide whether to delegate a task. The Eisenhower Matrix asserts that urgent tasks which lack importance should be delegated. Leaders should delegate tasks that do not require their specific skill set, are not going to risk significant consequences, and need to be completed soon. If your team can effectively manage an urgent task, then give them the opportunity to support you and the organization. Embrace the opportunity to practice an empowering leadership style and free yourself to focus on leading well.
Reflection: What is the monkey on your back (a task you need to delegate)? What steps will you take to get this monkey off your back?
