Madeline,
Good response. Dumping is self serving. There is little or no thought given to the person to whom the task is being delegated. When it is done correctly, there is much thought given to the person, that person's professional development needs, that person's skill set, etc. Ultimate responsibility for successful task completion, whether dumping or delegating, however, rests with the supervisor.
Pat
Nelly,
Sounds like you have had some experience with this one. You are right on target. The other piece is that even though a task has been delegated, the supervisor still retains ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the task. Further, as supervisors we have a responsibility for the professional development of our staff. What better way to help them to develop new skills than through a delegation process.
Pat
Dumping is to basically giving a task to one of your employees, which you would prefer not doing your self; this way you take it off your back without showing the importance of the result of that task.
Delegating is when you give the task to an employee and you take the time to go over the objective, explaining important items about the task; following up to make sure that is going well and prividing an opportunity to the employee to ask questions and finally seing the final product well done.
Well; this is a good one! Dumping is basically given a staff member who is working under your supervision a task that you prefer not doing. When you dump, you are practically showing, you don't really care about doing a follow up and much less, the final result of the project or task. On the other hand, it is very important to delegate; usually when managers do not delegate is usually because they are control freeks and want to do it all and always look super busy. Delegating shows organization, it shows that the supervisor is providing good training to the employees and off course it proves that staff is knowledgeble. When delegating you also show you trust because you are letting go, of that task, but doing a follow up, and provising support.
Julie,
You are correct. You also put a whole lot of thought into your delegating decision in terms of to whom to delegate. Who has the necessary skill sets, who can benefit professionally from this assignment, etc. The follow up that you mentioned is key, too. Checking to see if the employee has questions and if they are progressing appropriately is important. You still, however, maintain ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the assignment.
Dumping is simply of way of getting it off your desk with no thought given to the benefits it might have on the recipient of the assignment.
Pat
Delegating and dumping have big differences. When delegating you follow up to make sure that the employee is on task. Dumping is simply giving them the task and not following it through.
I find that having a plan will always keep me on track.
Elsa,
You are correct. With dumping, you really give no thought to the professional development needs of the person to whom you are delegating. Dumping is done to serve the supervisor where delegating serves the needs of both parties.
With delegating, the supervisor still maintains ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the task. Periodic followup is important to ensure the task is being completed successfully and that there are no questions or concerns on the part of the employee.
Pat
Pat
Delagating is giving someone instructions on how to do something and being available to help, if needed. Dumping is throwing something at someone without instructions.
Elsa
Mercedes,
So often we are reluctant to delegate because it is easier just to do the task ourselves. But if we think about delegating as an opportunity to provide an employee with some professional growth opportunities, it becomes a more palatable option. One important piece of delegating is the fact that as a supervisor, we retain the ultimate responsibility for the task. We also need to periodically check with the employee to make certain that progress is being made and to determine if their are questions.
Pat
Pat
Delegating is for me when you give the power or authority to a persona to act in one's place or to complete the task that you do not compliment.Dumping is when you give to someone a job to be done because you hate and do not analize the condition or result because you refusse to do it.
Dolly,
You are right on target when you talk about the professional development of the employee. That is the piece that makes delegating such a viable opportunity. Some people will say that it is just easier to do it myself but then you deprive the employees of an opportunity to develop new skills.
Pat
Hi Diana,
Good distinction between the two. When you delegate you should be thinking about the professional growth opportunity that you are giving the employee. Even though a task or project is delegated, the ultimate responsibility for its successful completion still rests with the supervisor. When you delegate, you still need to do periodic followup to make certain the task is being completed appropriately and to respond to questions the person to whom the task was delegated might have.
Pat
Delegating involves assigning work duties to help an employee further develop professionally and share in project development.Dumping is giving up your own personal workload onto somone else. Each person has their own individual responsibilities and it would not be fair handing everything over to someone else and obtain credit for it. Teamwork I believe works better.
Delegating is dividing your work load among others that are qualified to do the task. Letting you concentrate on the most important things that are required to be done only by you.
Dumping is throwing something at someone without giving instructions as to what needs to be done and just because you dont feel like doing the job.
Marietta,
Good response. Delegating needs to be a win-win situation. Not only do you gain a lighter load but your employee also has an opportunity to learn new skills as a result of the task delegated.
Dumping is more one way. Little or no thought is given to the professional growth of the person to whom you are delegating.
The other point that is important to remember is that the person delegating retains the ultimate responsibility for satisfactory completion of the task.
Pat
Delegating is dividing your work load among others that are qualified to do the task. Letting you concentrate on the most important things that are required to be done only by you.
Dumping is throwing something at someone without giving instructions as to what needs to be done. Usually something you hate to do.
Marietta
Bridget,
You understand the difference. The other piece that is important to understand is that even though you delegate a task or a project, you still have ultimate responsibility for its successful completion and for ensuring that the employee does indeed benefit from the experience. Guiding as needed is the supervisor's responsibility.
Pat
Before ensure that you are delegating and not dumping, you have to ensure that you are serving two purposes...lightening your load to ensure you meet all deadlines for projects and helping your staff to develop. If you follow this with each task, you will ensure that you are delegating and not just dumping.
Susana,
You did a fine job of differentiating between dumping and delegating. Delegating takes some thought where dumping does not. When you delegate, you need to put some thought into the professional development needs of your employees and who might gain professionally from doing the task you are looking to delegate. To delegate does not mean that you hand over a task and think no more about it as you might when you dump. You maintain ultimate responsibility for the successful completion of the task or project and should be available to guide and direct as needed.
Pat
Delegating help managers to be more efficient in the workplace, it also give employees a better sense of worth and cultivates skills in new areas.
Dumping work, you find the jobs that you hate doing, and you dump on.
