DELEGATION TRAINING

Why Delegate?

Here's some reasons why we delegate responsibility and tasks in our organizing:

• You can't do it all by yourself-- There is always a lot to do, and you can't, and shouldn't, do it alone. By delegation, everything gets done, and no one has to shoulder the burden on their own.
• Leadership Development-- If we aren't asking other members to take on more responsibility, we aren't helping them develop into better organizers.
• Everyone should be involved-- We are constantly modeling how to organize to our fellow members--if we don't delegate, others won't delegate.
• To get better at delegating-- Sometimes, you go on vacation, or you get sick-- the work still needs to get done. Delegating on a regular basis will improve your skill at delegation and also prepares others to be asked to take on more on a regular basis.

What holds us back from delegating?

We all can hold ourselves back from delegating at different times in our organizing. Here's some reasons why we hold back from delegating:

• Fear of the NO: Often times, we simply don’t ask because we think the other person will say no. If someone says no-- that's ok! We still need to ask.
• We can do it better or faster by ourselves. We may be experts or well-versed at a particular task, and consequently don't want to leave it up to those who are less efficient or skilled.
• Perfectionism. Fear of mistakes often holds us back-- whether it is fear of our own mistakes, or fear of others messing up.
• Not wanting to hold people accountable. We assume that by asking others to take on tasks, we are in a position of responsibility that we do not want.
• Fear that others are not up to the task. When we delegate, we are relying on others to hold up their end of the bargain. Oftentimes, we don't delegate because we fear these folks may not be able to complete a particular task that is important to our organizing, whether it's an event or leading a recruitment training.

Principles of delegation

• Just ask. MoveOn members are truly amazing and committed organizers. Often times, the only thing holding people back is that they haven't been asked.
• When people take on responsibility, they're becoming better leaders. This is where you find your next great leader!
• Delegating now frees you up later! Once you train a Council member on a certain skill- they can use that knowledge to take on the task next time!
• Set proper expectations and a timeline. Nothing will derail a task faster than the unexpected. Be sure to prepare the person for what lies ahead, and be clear on the expectations and timeline.
• Provide context. Context means not only why this task needs to be done, but also why this particular person would be good fit for its completion and why the task is necessary and important.
• Be careful not to emphasize convenience over the importance of the work. Our natural tendency can be to talk about how easy a task is, rather than explaining how important the task is to the Council and to MoveOn. Remember that MoveOn council members aren’t in councils because its easy- we get involved because our work is urgent and important, and we want to see our Council, and the progressive movement, succeed.

When can you delegate?

You can delegate at almost any point in your organizing, whether it's for a particular event, or as part of the long-term development of your Council.

Before events:

• Recruitment: with some preparation, everyone can participate and recruit hosts and attendees for our MoveOn events.
• Different Council members can take on different pieces of the agenda for a prep call or at a meeting
• You can ask a new Council member to get the materials ready for your event.

During events:

• Ask a new host tells the MoveOn Council story
• Delegating parts of the event agenda to other MoveOn members
• Talking to the media

After events

• Ask different members to lead different parts of your debrief call
• Follow-up is as crucial as recruitment: everyone can call through the attendees and make sure they sign up to join the Council!
• Making leadership asks-- prep core group members to ask other new members to join the core group.
  

Nuts and Bolts of How To Delegate

• Provide the context for why the work that someone is taking on is important. MoveOn members will do almost anything you ask them to as long as they know why it’s important and why they are being asked to do it.
• Make a clear ask and get a firm commitment.
  • Making a clear ask means asking a member to do a task by giving them an overall picture of what that entails (i.e. asking someone to head up a prep call also means all the work that goes into holding a prep call- scheduling the call, recruiting for the call, and holding the call). Getting a firm commitment from a member is vital to making sure that the task is completed. If your council member gives a hesitant yes, ask why they are hesitating. It could just be because they aren’t sure that the task entails.
• Set clear expectations, goals and deadlines with them. What are they expected to do? Make a plan with them as to when they are going to elements of the task and a deadline when it should be completed. Also, letting them know what their goals are is an important part of setting expectations. How will your council member know he/she is being successful?
• If they are new to a task, take some time to prep them to do good work. Investing some time now to train someone on a task will not only ensure that the task is done correctly, but also increases the chance of the member wanting to take on more responsibility in the future because they felt successful.
• Follow up with accountability BEFORE the deadline or goal is missed. When a deadline is set, don't wait until after it passes to check up on how a member is doing. This only reinforces the fear that someone isn't going to get the task done- but if you check in before the deadline has passed you can make sure that the task is being completed and if there are problems, you can be preemptive at fixing them.
  

Tips for effective delegation

• Let go! Don't micromanage the tasks of others. Resist the urge to solve someone else's problem. Give them suggestions or limits, but let them take their own actions.
  
• Never take back a delegated task because you can do it better or faster. Take the time to show the other person how to get better. Delegation will pay off in the end as we develop leaders.
• Keep your mind open to new ways of doing things. There just may be a better way than the way things have previously been done.
• Delegation is taking a risk that the other person may make a mistake or even fail at a task. That is ok. People learn from mistakes and will be able to do the task better next time. This is about leadership development.
• Be generous with praise. Celebrate the successes when delegation goes well, and be sure to celebrate when a goal and deadline is met!

Common pitfalls

• NOT ASKING! Again, you can't wait for others to ask how they can help. In fact, in most cases they are waiting for you to tell them how they can help.
• Not following up before the deadline has passed. You can't set someone up to do something and then not follow up to make sure that it has happened. The work that we do is important- every piece of it should get done- so make sure that it is getting done before it is too late.
• Asking someone to take on a task without providing the context for that task. Without giving an adequate explanation for why someone should do a particular task, the person will either say no, or will take on the task but without a proper understanding of the role.
• Not setting the person up well with the right tools, training, or expectations. Make sure folks have what they need to succeed. This involves tools and training, but also a clear timeline, goals and deadlines.
• Don't be afraid of silence. If someone doesn't say yes right away, that doesn't mean that they are going to say no, it just means they are thinking about it. Give them the opportunity to think, and respond.

Roleplays

Delegation is a skill that we need to get good at. It is important to our network because it ensures that we are:

• maximize our efficiency to get the most work done in the least amount of time;
• developing leaders and challenging our members to be better and better organizers; and
• its how we build the movement.

Some things to remember:

• Make a clear ask/ get a firm commitment
• Expectations, Goals and Deadlines
• Set up a timeline to check back with them

Roleplays:

1) Dealing with a difficult task. You are calling a new host and asking them to set up and run their own prep call.

2) Delegating to new members. You are calling into a new startup area to find attendees. You still have over 100 names to call to get out to the event.

3) Delegating in a crunch. Your CC calls to say that with less than 48 hours to go, your host just cancelled. You need all hands on deck to find a new host ASAP and let the attendees know of the change.