Art of
Delegation – Islamic Guidance
Delegation is Not just telling people what to do but
it as follows:
•
Assignment of new responsibilities on One’s
Behalf
•
Authorizing to carry out tasks
•
A form of power sharing (Empowerment)
Let’s see what guidance we get on this from Holy Quran and
prophet sunnah
Story of Moses & Harun AS gives
a good insight on delegation
When Moses AS was called by Lord on to mountain, He
delegated the task to his brother Harun.
´ Quran says “And
We appointed for Moses thirty nights, to which We added ten, whereby the term
of forty nights set by his Lord was fulfilled. And Moses said to Aaron, his
brother: 'Take my place among my people, act righteously, and do not follow the
path of those who create mischief.’ (7:142)”
What Moses
AS did was setting the role, explaining his objective & the limits of his
authority.
´ Role - to act for him amongst his people. Be a
vicegerent. اخْلُفْنِيْ فِيْ
قَوْمِيْ
´ Objective - to
do right things in a right way وَ اَصْلِحْ
´ Limits on the
delegated authority - not to follow the way of those who do mischief. وَ لَا تَتَّبِعْ سَبِيْلَ الْمُفْسِدِيْنَ
Resource analysis and management
When Moses AS
was given the task of leading the nation of Israel in front of Pharaoh; the
first thing that he did was to analysis the available resources. Moses AS felt
that he lacks communication skills as required for the task. He found out that his
brother Harun AS has excellent communication skills. He asks Lord to make Harun
as his deputy to compliment his skills. (Most of the managers try to have their
team members of inferior quality so that they shouldn’t become a challenge to
them. But a true leader knows himself and the task ahead and select his team
accordingly)
Allah Immediately listen to Moses AS query and assign the
resources he asked for. That’s a lesson for those who are delegation to provide
necessary resources for carrying out the task; Lacking of which will result in
lower output.
Allocating additional Authorities
and resources
One who is assigning the task should know the resources and Authorities required for the task even if it not asked. Allah has provided the needed authority to Moses AS
´ "Then
We sent Musa and his brother Harun, with Our Signs and authority manifest,...
"(Al Mu'minun, 23:45)
Signs were the snake turning stick and the glowing hand which
was needed to make pharaoh and his courtiers aware about the task (Being sent as a Prophet and not an ordinary Person) which Moses AS was
performing.
Briefing task and role
When Prophet Mohammed SAS send Maaz bin Jabal RA to Yemen as
Governor, He explained the task to be performed gradually in details:
This shows that the leader’s responsibility in briefing the
task and the gradual approach to be adopted in performing the task. These tips
are over and above the job descriptions which are general in nature.
Process and work methodology
Similarly, Prophet Mohammed SAS has given base guideline to
Maaz RA بشروا
وَلاَ تنفروایسرا ولاتعسرا
Work ethics and guiding principle was laid by prophet
Mohammed SAS that purpose of doing Dawah should be to make life easy for the
people and not to over burden them. And also, the message should start with
tiding rather than scaring people about not doing and getting punished. Expect
the positive side of the message that people will listen and accept it.
Role extent and decision making
on delegated task
This discussion is very important in dealing with delegated
tasks; one should know the limits and boundaries of taking decisions and try to
work inside it. This is very different in independent tasks where one is not
binded and can take his own decisions.
Leadership triangle of Delegation
People have to understand triad of 1. Responsibility, 2. Authority and 3. Accountability.
Responsibility: Its an obligation to complete a given
task. The task may be assigned, assumed or Conferred. It exist in all levels of
organization depending on someone’s role in the hierarchy. One has to
understand that Responsibility can be delegated but cannot be transferred. The person
on the helm of the affairs is responsible for overall conduct of the
organization.
Authority: anyone given a responsibility without
authority is bound to fail. Hence proper resources needed along with power of
authority and control should be allocated to the concerned. Authority should
always be delegated
Accountability: Proper accountable system should be
in place to make people answerable and accountable. A persons should be gauged
with end results and not his intentions or efforts. Accountability just cannot
be passed down the hierarchy on the people who are executing the tasks.
Men
will not long trust leaders who feel themselves beyond accountability for what
they do
Advantages of Delegation
•
Enhanced subordinate
commitment
•
Time management
•
Job enrichment
•
Creates learning
opportunities
•
Identify potential leaders
•
Save Cost
What to Delegate
•
Tasks better done by
subordinate
•
Urgent, not high priority
tasks
•
Tasks relevant to a
subordinate’s career
•
Tasks of appropriate
difficulty
•
Both pleasant and
unpleasant tasks
•
Tasks not central to the
manager’s role
•
Things the Subordinate
Needs To Do To Grow Professionally
How to Delegate
•
Clear, concise
expectations آپ کی توقعات
•
Results/Objectives نتائج اور مقاصد
•
Priorities/Deadlinesترجیحات اور اہداف
•
Provide adequate
authority, specify limits of discretion
•
Specify reporting
requirements
•
What/How often/Format
•
Ensure subordinates accept
responsibility
•
Check for comprehension
•
Doubts/concerns/questions سوالات، خدشات ، شک
•
Inform others who need to
knowاطلاع دیں جن کو ضرورت ہے
•
Monitor progress: رفتار کار کا جائزہ لیں
•
TRUST, BUT VERIFY
•
Ensure subordinate
receives necessary info
•
Provide support/assistance
•
Avoid Reverse Delegation
•
Make mistakes a learning
experience
•
Opportunity to train
•
What do you want next
time?
Why We Fail to Delegate
•
Need for power/control
•
Fear of subordinate failure (Trust)
•
Loss of control/Insecurity
•
Time constraints
•
Confidential information
•
Manager has desire to maintain high quality
•
Don’t know how to delegate
What not to delegate?
•
What you yourself is not able to do
•
What you are directly contributing to
your business
•
Work your subordinates cannot perform
effectively
•
Management decisions
•
Personal accountability
•
Discipline of Members
•
Recognition and praise
•
Supervision of subordinates
•
Long-term planning
“Responsibility
is a unique concept. It can only reside
and inhere in a single individual. You
may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with
you. You may disclaim it, but you cannot
divest yourself of it. Even if you do
not recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it. If responsibility is rightfully yours, no
evasion or ignorance or passing the blame can pass the burden to someone
else. Unless you can point your finger
at the man responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had
anyone really responsible.”
– H. G.
Rickover
Very informative n productive
ReplyDeletePerfectly explained!
ReplyDeleteVery informative
ReplyDelete