In our world today, it seems that one thing that is fully certain is change.  The speed of transformation that our business world is seeing – the rapid growth of technology, the ever changing needs of consumers, the needs of our families, the continued demands of our bosses and competitors, and the unending wish lists of our valued customers – does confirm that change is critical.

Many of us have the habit of resisting change. If at all possible we would rather avoid or pass on any change and maintain the status quo. There are some who are always looking for a change in the way their home or office is set up or in the way they conduct themselves. However, most people prefer being “settled” and feel uncomfortable at the thought of change.

In the days ahead, with the accelerated ecological imbalance that humanity has created in our environment, there is a definite pending change in the universe. One small example of such is that Delhi marked December 2008 as its warmest winter since 1953. The many reports of climate changes, the erosion of forests and lack of rainfall is a sad change that we are inviting upon ourselves.

Recently I met a senior level bank manager from Andhra Bank. The manager was explaining how difficult it is to get the staff members within the public sector in India to change and move on with the new demands of our time. The competition from the private sector is ruthless, but some public sector employees still remain relaxed and reluctant to make any positive progress or change at all.

Because change is inevitable, it is best to prepare for it. Change can be a painful process at times. It requires saying goodbye to old processes and adapting to the new, which at times may be strange. A principle and attitude to adopt in times like these: Let us change for the better. Be it in the way a job is done, be it in relating to family members, be it driving or communication, be it in one’s view of other, or whatever may be the case. Let us change for the better.

The major two categories in which change occurs or must occur are:

1)    Inner personal life

2)    Work / Home / Business life

A fine example of the change that occurs in our personal lives is given by nature in the emergence of butterfly from the cocoon.

Metamorphosis of the adult butterfly is a beautiful example. As we studied in our school days, there is a four-stage process that produces an adult butterfly.

A) Egg: Female butterflies lay their eggs on plants to enable the newborn caterpillar (later stage) to get food from plants’ leaves.

B) Larva: Also called caterpillar. It emerges from the egg after a few days. The caterpillar spends most of its time eating.

C) Pupa: The caterpillar forms a protection shield called a pupa when it has finished growing. Most of the transformation takes place inside the pupa.

D) Butterfly: When the pupa has finished transformation, the butterfly emerges from the pupa. The adult butterfly lays eggs on plants after its mating period, and the circle repeats.

In our personal lives we should look for change, a change for the better. Through the ‘egg, larva, pupa’ stages we must wait to become the beautiful butterfly in our character and in our being. Not only does this change become a showpiece to others, but becoming beautiful in our inner selves becomes a great benefit which only we will know.

Second, in professional life, statistics indicate the amount of stress a change brings in one’s life. For instance, a person’s stress increases by 35% during the move from one house to another. Stress increases 55% during a job change; 60% when a child is born. Although the percentage differs from person to person, the issue of change and its effect on every person is significant.

The best policy is to be ready for change. Welcome it when it comes. If we build a ‘least resistance policy’ to change, which in any case is inevitable, we will eradicate undue stress and increase our ability to cope as we adapt to any system or process tactically.

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Sam Paul is the Chief Information Officer of OM India (a reputed NGO) and a human Rights activist for the past two decades. He is currently a research student of Acharya Nagarjuna Ranga University in Andhra Pradesh.

Be it a homemaking mother delegating small house chores to another member of the household when she cannot leave the stove; be it the manager’s job to complete various parts of a project; be it the prime ministerial activities of big political leaders or the presidential jobs of the most powerful countries of the world, all can only be accomplished by good and proper delegation. If there is no delegation, delays are inevitable in getting the job done and a risk of complete failure in accomplishment of the task is eminent. Administration of multiple responsibilities and production of results in a time bound manner requires delegation.

In the current scenario of both personal lives and the professional world, the art of getting the job done is extremely important, that too in a given time, without delay.

Definition of delegation

Delegation is a job given to someone with clear communication, the needed authority to accomplish the work, and the requirement of reporting back about the same.

Delegation involves

Giving out an assignment or handing over a task. Clarity should be maintained in the mind of the one who delgates, as well as the one to whom the task is delegated. The scope of the work and the required time frame should be stated clearly.

Clear communication of the job to be done. Someone rightly said that communication is not what is said but what is understood.  If the person receiving the job understands differently, then the leader or the manager should improve his or her own communication skills.

Clearing double expectations. Many times expectations of the one giving the work differ from those of the one performing the delegated task. Perhaps someone is not expected to do a thorough job, but understands instead that the expectation is for a perfect or final product.  The expectations from both sides should be made clear in delegation.

Delegate to train and develop others. There is so much emphasis these days on academics and qualifications.  Though they are important, the age-old “guru-shishya” system of schooling in India was dependant on this type of training of others. The biblical leader Moses, who probably led more people than any other according the biblical narration, also taught his leadership and management skills to Joshua by delegating and training before his own role could be handed over.

Downside in Delegation

Too much of delegation. Sometimes work gets passed on without the leader giving good thought to the process or the outcome.

Delegation without adequate follow-up. Delegation is prone to fail when there is a lack of needed follow up. From time to time and as required there should be adequate follow-up.  Be careful, however, that in the name of follow up the leader does not end up doing the whole job!

Good balance between not interfering and adequate follow up is necessary. Many times those receiving the delegation complain that interference is too much beyond what is needed.   This kills creativity and the ability to perform, thereby being counterproductive to organizational goals.

Delegation without proper authority causes frustration. Many leaders / managers think that delegation is good, but are insecure to give authority along with it.  Harm is done to the job or project due to lack of authority. Even in high positions of government delegation would be productive, but authority is most times vested only in the “top”.  It does not get filtered down to those performing the job on a day to day basis.

Delegating relationships and friendships is not appropriate. The danger of delegating the maintaining of personal friendships and relationships causes a sad state of affairs in any network. Special occasions in the family, keeping in touch with loved ones and maintaining communication with close friends cannot be delegated. Some business-related activities in this regard may be delegated, but the sole responsibility of maintaining these familial dynamics rests on the individual.

Invalid reasons for NOT Delegating

Fear of not getting the job done “perfectly”. Some think nobody can do a job as good as we ourselves can!!  The fear of the majority of leaders and managers is that if a job is delegated it may not be done “perfectly well”.  We must remember that “perfect” people are those who have made several attempts and just as many mistakes to attain “perfection”.

The time and effort that it takes to explain and delegate. Leaders and managers may think it is a long process to explain all the details of a job and may prefer to go ahead and simply do the job on their own.  This is a taxing decision in the long run.  When an opportunity arises for this job to be done again, due to lack of delegation there is no one competent to attend to it.

It is a necessity in today’s world to engage in multi-tasking, especially for the new age leader and manager.  Getting several jobs done at the same time is a necessity.  Besides being industrious and creative, leaders and managers should learn the proper use of delegation.

To excel and avoid burnout while still accomplishing our tasks, one must dare to delegate.

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Sam Paul is the Chief Information Officer of OM India (a reputed NGO) and a human Rights activist for the past two decades. He is currently a research student of Acharya Nagarjuna Ranga University in Andhra Pradesh.