10 Things a Manager Should Never Delegate

10 Things a Manager Should Never Delegate10 Things a Manager Should Never DelegatePublished on 10/25/2014 No, this isnt an article about how important it is for a manager to delegate or how to delegate. Honestly, thats what I started writing, and then got bored with it. I mean, most managersknowthey should delegate, and doing it isnt exactly rocket science. So why dont they? The reasons most managers dont delegate are complex, often wrapped up in values, identify, trust, power, control, and fear. So well save that article for another day that is, something onwhymanagers dont delegate. This article examines the other extreme end of the delegation continuum the handful of things a manager shouldneverdelegate. Everything else is fair game. 1. Vision.Vision is the essence of leadership, so if a manager attempts to hand off the creation of a vison to someone else (a consultant, a kollektiv, a team member), they may as well be delegating away their leadership. Sure, its often a good idea to get others involved in the creation of a vision for more on that, seeHow to Align Your Team Around a Shared Vision. This is one area where the manager is going to set the stage, beveryinvolved, and ultimately, have final approval. 2. Hiring decisions.Ive also seen managers be overly dependent on search consultants, agencies, search committees, and HR for finding talent and making hiring decisions. I may be an outlier when it comes to this, but I believe hiring talent is one of the most important things a manager can do in order to be successful. Why would you delegate such an important process? I even go as far as to insist on doing my own phone screens and background checks. I want to talk to former bosses myself, in order to verify things the candidate told me, or to gain valuable information that will help me be a better manager for the candidate if hired. 3.Onboarding a new employee.I dont care what the level, from senior executive to entry level employee, the manager needs to take a hands-on role in helping a new employee feel welcomed. They should take an active role in the onboarding and training plan, and clear their schedules as much as possible in order to make time for the new employee. A best case example the sales manager that personally greets each new employee at the door when they arrive. The worst example the sales manager on a business trip for two weeks and never even sees the new employee. 4. Discipline.I once worked for a manager that delegated firing his administrative assistant to me. Seriously. Other managers will pass off discipline to their HR manager. Thats just wrong, and completely disrespectful to the employee. Managers need to step up and handle their own dirty work when it comes toprogressive discipline. 5. Praise and recognition.Managers that are, just no good at this recognition and praise stuff, will come up with all kinds of creative ways to avoid this important leadership responsibility. They have people ghost write re cognition letters and speeches, create peer recognition programs (as a substitute, not as a complement), and have their administrative assistants buy gifts for their employees. In order for recognition to be effective, it needs to be sincere and personal, and delegating it to someone else sort of defeats the purpose. 6. Motivation.Its up to the leader to create a motivating environment. For more on this, seeTen Ways to Motivate Your Employees.And sorry, creating a motivating environment doesnt includecreating a fun committee. 7. Leading transformational change.A leader needs to be directly involved no, not just involved, butleadingthe effort when it comes to large-scale, transformational changes. Its the leaders role to establish the vision for the change (see number one), and there are just too many things that can go wrong to leave transformational changes in the hands of committees or consultants. SeeTen Models for Leading Change. 8. Reorganizations. SeeGuidelines for Reorganizi ng Your Department or Company. Again, as with many other of the responsibilities on this list, getting others involved is a good thing. Ive never seen a management team be able to objectively reorganize themselves the leader needs to make the tough calls that no one else wants to make. 9. Development. A leaders development cant be delegated to HR, an executive coach, or the training department. Yes, those are all supporting resources, but the leader needs to own their own development, as well asthe development of their direct reports. 10. Performance appraisals. One of my favorite management pet peeves having employees write their own self-assessments and then the manager signs off on it as the final appraisal. SeeThe Top Ten Performance Appraisal Blunders a Manager Can Makefor this blunder and others.