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The Creative Executive in Action - Part 2

In the role of coordinator, probably the most difficult and complex job the executive faces is that of delegation. But a manager of anyone other than himself must learn to delegate or cease to grow. His own success and ability will be measured largely by his ability to get things done through other people. The manager who will not delegate is always in danger of having the people under him work at far below their capacities. One symptom of inadequate delegation is that the executive finds him­self saddled with details and so busy helping his people do their jobs that he has no time left to concentrate on and think about his own job. And, of course, by insisting on such a close supervision of subordinates' work, the executive is preventing them from growing in their own right.

It is a well-quoted maxim of management that delegation of responsibility must be accompanied by delegation of authority. Not so well known is the maxim that there must be delegation of the freedom to use imagination. This means that the subordi­nate must have freedom to develop his own, even completely new, ways of doing things, to develop or invent his own methods, and to keep track of his own results. Many an executive knows his job or his field so well that he can solve a problem almost instinctively. And when he sees a subordinate struggling with a puzzle that he could solve in a minute, there is an almost irresistible temptation to step in and do the job. It requires real self-control to resist that temptation. But it is the only way to ensure that, in the long run, you will end up with subordinates who are capable of doing their own thinking.

One of the best ways to accomplish this creative delegation is to do so in terms of a completed job. It is necessary to tell people what is required of them, of course. But, unless standardization is absolutely necessary, they should not be told how to accomplish what is wanted. The executive who is trying to encourage more creativity in his company will avoid giving detailed job instruc­tions along with the job assignment. He will, instead, present the job assignment and require the subordinate to carry it out to the finished job when he has a "complete package" to present as his own effort.

Related terms include business management career and business presentation.