Podcast Summary: Manager Tools Delegation Model – Updated

Manager Tools Podcast | Hosts: Sarah & Mike | July 22, 2024

Main Theme

This episode provides a practical, actionable walkthrough of the updated Manager Tools Delegation Model. Sarah and Mike explore why effective delegation is essential for individual managers and organizational growth, confront common objections, and lay out a step-by-step process for delegating tasks that both builds team capacity and maintains results.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Delegation is Critical for Growth

• Delegation as the Solution: The hosts emphasize that delegation is not just a managerial nicety but a requirement for organizational growth. Without it, managers get overloaded, limiting both their own capacity and that of the organization.

  "There are management theorists who believe that a lack of delegation is the single biggest internal roadblock to organizational growth." — Sarah [03:15]

• Juggling Koan Analogy:
  The recurring metaphor is a box of 20 balls of two sizes (large = 5 hours, small = 1 hour) representing total weekly work (40 hours). When a new, major responsibility arrives (the "big orange ball"), the only way to fit it in is to delegate or drop something else.

  "If we don't delegate... that already overextended workday we have... becomes an effort in working more hours, which is a problem." — Sarah [04:31]

• Delegation Cascade:
  Delegation is a cascade—when the CEO takes on more, she pushes work down, and everyone must do the same, ensuring capacity is always created.

  “The immediate correct response to being delegated to causing your workload to increase... is to delegate to some of your directs... that's how it works in organizations. We call it the delegation cascade.” — Sarah [14:14]

2. What Not to Delegate

• Don’t Delegate Big Balls: If you give a high-complexity responsibility to a direct, the effort required for them balloons (“small balls become big balls as they move down the org chart”). Delegating your core priorities or new, misunderstood tasks creates chaos and resentment.

  "Can you imagine delegating one of your big balls to your drex? It gets larger as it goes down. It's going to crush them." — Mike [17:19]

• Don’t Split Big Tasks: Trying to chop a significant responsibility into pieces for several directs only creates more work for you in terms of coordination and rarely works in practice.

• Don’t Delegate What You Don’t Understand: You need to at least be able to provide direction on a new, unfamiliar responsibility before you delegate it.

  "If you don't know how to do it, how are you going to help your direct understand it?" — Sarah [20:20]

3. Delegate Small Balls to Create Capacity

• The Right Approach:
  The effective solution is to delegate several smaller tasks (“small balls”) to make space for new, major responsibilities. Best to assign each to different directs—easier for them and increases receptiveness to delegation over time.

  “Five small balls to five different directs.” — Sarah [22:22]

• “Delegate to the Floor”:
  When it comes to the individual contributor with no one to delegate to, the only solution is to stop doing less valuable work (“delegate to the floor”—eliminate obsolete, low-impact activities).

  "The individual contributor doesn't have people... They just stop doing something." — Sarah [23:35]

  Memorable Story:
  Mike shares a tale about axing a monthly report that no one read, liberating capacity to focus on value-adding work.

  "I had four or five people who did nothing but produce this report... nobody read it ... So guess what I did. We stopped doing it." — Mike [25:01]

The Manager Tools Delegation Model

(Practical "How-To" Steps)

1. State Your Desire for Help [27:53]

• Simply start:

  "I'd like your help on something." — Sarah [28:01]

  • Use their name to increase willingness.
  • Avoid language like "Can you do me a favor?" (it's not a personal favor, it's work).

2. Tell Them Why You're Asking Them [29:42]

• Explain your reasoning—e.g., “You’re one of the best meeting managers on the team.”

  "It's us making a statement about why we've chosen them." — Sarah [30:05]

  • Shows thoughtfulness, links to their interests or development.

  "People love that. One of the reasons people don't love to be delegated things... it just feels like their manager is delegating because work needs doing... not a compelling reason." — Sarah [30:25]

3. Ask for Specific Acceptance [31:43]

• Phrase an explicit, actionable ask:

  "Would you please take responsibility for the monthly project meeting?" — Sarah [32:01]

  • Ask before giving full details; data shows 81% of people say yes at this stage.
  • Early objections reveal real concerns, which you can address up front.

  "If they don't say yes, they're likely to say something like, 'Well, I could, but I'm worried about my workload...' When we ask the question, we get some insight into what their objection is." — Sarah [32:24]

4. Describe the Task/Project in Detail [35:41]

• Break down the work, timeline, and expectations—but only after acceptance.
  • Emphasize: There will be a quality dip at first, but that’s acceptable.

  “Your direct doesn't have to do it as well as you're doing it now. They only have to do it as well as you did it the first time you did it yourself.” — Sarah [37:05]

5. Go Over Deadline and Quality Standards [37:02]

• Specify due dates and measurable criteria.

6. Nail Down Reporting Standards [37:50]

• Make it clear how and when they should report progress (e.g., weekly updates in your 1:1).

  "If it hasn't been reported on in our world, it hasn't been done." — Mike [38:02]

7. Ask for Skill or Resource Needs [39:26]

• Finish by asking if they need anything to succeed.
  • "What do you need from me?"
  • Not a “reverse delegation” but supports their success and reveals any final blockers.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Why Delegation Matters:

  "Delegation, it's a managerial behavior that is absolutely core to organizational growth and innovation." — Mike [39:32]

• On Letting Go of Work:

  "We can't have it both ways. Wanting to grow by having our boss trust us and then not granting that same trustworthiness to our own directs." — Mike [39:32]

• On Executive Advancement:

  "Effective delegation is the single biggest behavioral difference between managers and effective executives. If you harbor any desire to gain more responsibility, you have to be willing to share what you're working on now with your directs." — Sarah [39:56]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:54] – The Juggling Koan: Delegation and organizational capacity
• [13:34] – The ‘Delegation Cascade’ explained
• [17:19] – Why delegating big tasks doesn’t work
• [23:35] – “Delegate to the floor” and Mike’s green-bar paper anecdote
• [27:53] – The 7-Step Manager Tools Delegation Model introduction
• [28:01] – Step 1: State your desire for help
• [29:42] – Step 2: Tell them why you’re asking
• [31:43] – Step 3: Ask for acceptance
• [35:41] – Step 4: Describe the task/project
• [37:02] – Steps 5-7: Deadline, reporting, and support
• [39:32] – The big takeaway on trust and leadership growth

Final Thoughts

The updated Manager Tools Delegation Model puts practical, persuasive communication at the heart of delegation. Managers are urged to delegate smaller tasks thoughtfully, ensure clarity and reporting, and recognize that letting go is both necessary for their own growth and core to the organization’s expansion. The episode closes with a reminder: advancing as a manager depends fundamentally on your ability to delegate.

Recommended for:
Managers seeking specific, workable steps for becoming more effective and building stronger, results-oriented teams—without drowning in endless “theory.”