不會分派任務 你就當不了領導

As we move upwards in an organization, our perspective begins to change, sometimes in ways that can feel uncomfortable. Most people begin working in some technical skill area where they can reliably produce desired outcomes based largely on their own performance.

隨着我們在一個組織內部獲得提拔，我們看待事物的視角也開始發生變化，有時甚至會讓你自己覺得不自在。大多數人進入一個組織之後首先承擔的是某個技術領域的角色，而且他們基本上確實能夠根據自己的能力貢獻出組織所需要的成果。

In my career, I was a public relations practitioner, skilled at media relations, drafting news releases, organizing events and news conferences, etc. Of course that also required the skill of collaborating with others, but I wasn’t responsible for their performance. However, as my mastery of public relations increased into the areas of consulting and selLing, I started moving up the ladder until eventually I was the general manager of the organization.

在我的職業生涯早年，我曾經是一名公關專員，擅長拓展媒體關係、撰寫新聞通稿、組織活動和新聞發佈會等工作。當然，這些工作也需要你具備與別人合作的技能，但當時我並用不爲別人的表現負責。不過，隨着我的技能擴展到諮詢和銷售等領域，我開始在公司裏獲得提拔，最終當上了公司的總經理。

That’s when I hit the wall! Suddenly, I realized I had been catapulted beyond my area of competence. I really had no idea how to “manage” others and how to “delegate” responsibility effectively to other players. So what did I do? I sucked most of the responsibility up to myself, continuing to work on things that demanded my technical expertise, while occasionally handing out a few “tasks” to others. Needless to say I suffered hugely as a manager until I learned the difficult lesson that (as my coach at the time said to me) “You need to find new ways of being important.”

這時候，我遭遇了職業的“撞牆期”。突然間，我發現我遇到了似乎力所不逮的問題。當時我真的不知道如何“管理”別人，如何把職責有效地“委派”給其他人。那麼，我是怎樣做的？我把大多數職責包攬在自己身上，繼續親歷親爲，從事需要我的專業技能的工作，只是偶爾把一些“任務”委派給別人。不用說，當時我作爲一位經理吃了不少苦頭，後來纔在這些苦頭中領悟到（就像當時我的導師對我說的那樣）：“你得找到新的方法來體現自己的重要性。”

The new role, the “new way of being important” that I learned was the role of leader, orchestrator, delegator. The new role of developing others instead of simply being a technical new role of working through others, not doing all the work myself. Imagine a symphony orchestra conductor trying to play all the instruments. That is what many new managers find themselves trying to do and its not a highly effective approach, to say the least!

所謂“體現自身重要性的新方法”就是當好領導、當好指揮者、當好委派者的藝術。也就是說，你要開發別人的潛能，而不是自己去充當一名技術專家；通過其他人開展工作，而不是把所有工作都包攬在自己身上。一名交響樂指揮家不可能一個人演奏所有樂器，但是很多新走馬上任的經理人都在犯這個錯誤，而這並不是一個非常有效的方式。

Many new managers fail to achieve their potential because they don’t delegate effectively and they don’t really understand what delegation is all about. Delegating is so critically important that for many aspiring managers it literally becomes their “Achilles Heel”—their fatal weak spot that can make or break their careers. So let’s examine six major reasons that managers fail to delegate effectively.

許多新任的經理人沒有充分發揮出他們自己的潛能，因爲他們不能有效地給下屬委派工作，而且他們也不明白委派工作的意義。委派工作對於領導者來說極爲重要，它甚至成了很多有理想、有抱負的經理人的“阿喀琉斯之踵”，可能成就、也可能毀掉一個經理人的事業。下面讓我們看看很多經理人沒能有效委派工作的五大主要原因。

1. Bad News First: The Primary Role of a Delegator is to DEVELOP Others. This is a fundamental reality that the majority of managers don’t understand…or perhaps don’t want to understand. Because “developing others” is not one of the technical skills that got them promoted to a manager in the first place.

1.第一個壞消息：委派者的主要角色是“開發”別人。這是一個大多數經理人並不瞭解的基本事實……或者他們根本也不想了解。因爲“開發”別人並不屬於讓這些經理人獲得提拔的技能之一。

Developing others, helping them grow and achieve puts them outside their Comfort Zone and so this role is often actively resisted. Delegation, plus ongoing coaching is the way to develop others to become as strong as, or even stronger than oneself. And the benefit of developing others is that it assures they can take over your job so you can be promoted to an even more senior role. Thus, the skill of developing others, and the skill of delegating responsibility to others provides the pathway to ongoing advancement. And, you are not bringing others a ‘burden’---you are in fact bringing them a growth opportunity.

許多經理人覺得開發別人、幫助別人成長並且取得成績並不在自身能力的“安全地帶”裏，因此，他們常常會牴觸這個角色。但事實上，向下屬委派工作，給予經常性的指導，目的是爲了把下屬培養成像自己一樣強、甚至超過自己的人。而開發別人的好處則是，你開發出來的人才可以取代你的職位，這樣你自己才能被提拔到更高的職位上。因此，開發別人的技能以及委派職責的能力爲我們提供了一個不斷上升的渠道。另外，你給別人委派職責，並不是給別人帶去了“負擔”，而是在給他們一個成長的機會。

2. Instead of Delegating they “Dump-legate.” The word delegate in English comes from the Latin verb delegare, which means to “un-tie.” So literally, to delegate is to “un-tie” yourself from a chunk of responsibility, entrusting it to another instead. But many managers seem to believe that the way to delegate is to simply “dump” the responsibility on another person, wash their hands and walk away. That is the most unskillful thing any manager could do and, like a time bomb, sooner or later it is guaranteed to blow up in their face.

2.不是“委派”而是“甩派”。英語的“委派”一詞來自拉丁文單詞“delegare”，原意是“鬆綁”。所以從字面上看，“委派”就是要讓你從大量職責中“鬆綁”，把它們派給別人。但是許多經理人似乎認爲，委派就是簡單地把責任“甩”給另一個人，自己當甩手掌櫃。這對於一個經理人來說是最沒有技術含量的事，這樣做就像留下了一個定時炸彈，遲早肯定會在自己面前爆炸。

Skillful delegation does involve entrusting a task to another, and, it also implies that the delegator stays connected to the other person throughout the process, being available for feedback, advice, coaching and whatever assistance is required. It means maintaining an active interest in the person with the goal of ensuring their success. It means that both parties are “tied” to the success of the project, in a committed spirit of partnership. Have you been “dumped” on in the past? Or have you dumped something on others? If so, I bet it didn’t feel like you were in a partnership.

高明的委派也包含把某項任務交付給其他人完成，但它也意味着委派者本人在任務的整個過程中都與被委派者保持溝通，而且還要提供反饋、建議、輔導或者任何其他接受委派的人所需要的東西。同時，你還要着眼於確保成功的目的，對被委派人保持主動的關注。它也意味着委派人和被委派人雙方都被“綁”在了一個項目的成敗上，必須以合作精神來共同努力。你過去是否有“甩派”責任的經歷？或者你是否曾經把某件事“甩”給其他人？如果是這樣的話，那麼你留給其他人的肯定不是一種通力合作的印象。

3. Failing to Explain the Big Picture. If you have been to business school you have probably studied “Situational Leadership.” This means that one learns to entrust responsibility to others based on their degree of expertise, staying more closely connected to those with little experience, and learning to be more relaxed around those with proven expertise.

3.沒有從全局角度進行闡釋。如果你上過商學院的話，你可能學過“情境領導理論”。它意味着一個領導要根據下屬的專業技能程度把責任委派給他們，然後對於那些經驗較欠缺的下屬，要更加密切地與他們溝通；對於那些事實證明技能比較純熟的下屬，對他們的督促可以相應放鬆一些。

It’s always nice to delegate to those with deep experience, even though these people aren’t going to learn much from the task. More challenging is the ability to delegate to people who have never done this type of work before. That is the real nature of developing people. They are well educated, talented, intelligent and willing…they simply lack experience.

把任務委派給那些經驗較豐富的下屬的確比較容易，即便這些人可能從任務中學習不到太多東西。更具有挑戰性的則是把任務分配給那些從來沒有從事過這類任務的人。這就是“開發他人”的核心所在。他們都是有優秀教育背景、有天賦、有才華、有進取心的人，只是缺乏經驗而已。

Therefore it is best to assume that they don’t really understand the relevance of the task at hand and how it connects to the Big Picture of the business. The wise manager always takes the time to explain the “why” of a task as the first step of delegating:

因此，在委派一項任務的時候，最好假設他們並沒有真正理解這項任務的重要性，也不明白它對業務的全局有什麼意義。高明的經理人經常在委派任務時首先會向下屬解釋爲什麼要完成這項任務，把它當作委派工作的第一步。

• Why we need this done

• 爲什麼要完成這項任務

• Why it is important to our business

• 爲什麼說它對我們的業務很重要

• Why it matters to their career

• 爲什麼說它對你們的職業很重要

• Who will benefit

• 誰能從這項任務中獲益

• Etc

• 其他事項

Failing to clarify the Big Picture, to “connect the dots” for a beginner is not only demotivating, it makes it very hard for them to feel that what they are doing is significant and meaningful. If you want a motivated learner, make sure they understand “why” the task is important. That way they will be able to sense their own importance in the larger scheme of things: they will feel actively engaged in the business instead of feeling like a robot.

如果在委派任務之前沒有向下屬解釋全局，沒有把“所有的點都聯繫起來”，如果是一位新人，他可能會理解不了他所做的事有什麼重要意義。因此如果你想要的是一個有積極性的學習者，就要確保他們理解爲什麼說這項工作具有重要性。這樣他們纔會感覺到自己在全局工作中的重要性，從而主動開展工作，而不是被動地像一架機器一樣按部就班地幹活。

4. Delegating Only Small, Trivial Tasks. Again, the principle of “situational leadership” applies: it is easier to delegate large projects to people who have already proven themselves competent. But…were they always so competent? At some point, their superiors took a risk on them and trusted them to take on a large chunk or responsibility…and they succeeded. Most likely, their supervisor was closely involved, checking-in regularly for trouble-shooting, counseling, encouraging, etc.

4.只委派無足輕重的任務。“情境領導理論”認爲，把較大的項目委派給那些已經在工作中證明了自身能力的下屬相對而言比較容易。但是，他們是不是能一直這樣勝任？有些時候，上級領導選擇在這些人身上冒冒險，把一個大項目或重大責任委託給他們，而且他們也的確取得了成功。可能他們的上級也密切參與了這項任務，並且積極主動地參與瞭解決問題的過程，給予了諮詢和指導。

Or perhaps not. Perhaps they had to rely only on their own wits and figure it all out by themselves. That is known in the West as “the deep end of the pool.” I spent a lot of time at the deep end in my early days and I assure you it is a very painful place to swim! My managers were simply incompetent to provide the kind of support and coaching I desperately needed and wanted. Of course, they didn’t think their job was to develop people either.

可有的時候也並非如此。有時，這些下屬可能只能依賴自己的智慧，獨力搞定一項任務。這種情況在西方叫做“泳池的深水區”。早年間我曾在“深水區”裏待過很長時間，我向你保證，在這個地方游泳非常痛苦。當時在我急需要支持和指導的時候，我的那些經理們在這方面卻做得十分不到位。當然，他們也不認爲開發別人是他們的職責。

My advice to aspiring managers: develop close relationships with your people, delegate BIG chunks of responsibility and stay closely connected with them along the way. Your career path is assured, together with the person you developed. If you only ask people to do the small stuff, they aren’t going to grow and neither is the business. Worst of all, the talented people you hired are going to vote with their feet and take their talents elsewhere. And that is going to be noticed.

我對那些有進取心的經理人的建議是：與下屬建立緊密的關係，把多數重大職責分配給他們，然後在執行任務的過程中與他們保持緊密的溝通。那麼你的職業之路即可確保無虞，同時你開發的下屬也會與你一起上升。如果你只讓下屬做些小事，他們就不會成長，你的業務也不會有大的起色。最糟糕的是，你僱傭的人才會用腳投票，帶着自己的才華另謀高就，而這是一個需要注意的跡象。

5. Thinking “Only I Can Do This.” So there you are, facing a big complex project or initiative and saying to yourself “If I delegate this, they will screw it up. No way I’m going to let that happen. I’ll just have to do it myself.” If this is familiar to you, you are not alone. This mindset is the reason that a large percentage of managers are stressed out, over worked and under-performing in their careers. The truth is, you are NOT the only one who can do this and the sooner you accept that the sooner you can start doing your real job: developing others.

5.認爲“這件事只有我能做”。面對一個複雜的項目或任務的時候，大家可能會對自己說：“如果我把這個工作派給別人，他們肯定會搞砸。我絕不能讓這種事發生，所以我只能自己做了。”如果這話你聽起來很耳熟，那麼這也不奇怪。這種心態是導致相當一部分比例的經理人在職業生涯中壓力過大、過度工作以及表現不佳的一個重要原因。事實上，你並不是唯一能做這件事的人。越早了解這個事實，就能越早着手做你真正的工作——開發他人。

When you see that something big needs to be done, call your people together and say something like this:

當你有一個重大任務需要完成時，你可以把下屬叫到一塊，對他們說：

“Team, thanks for coming. We are facing a BIG challenge here. Parts of it are even new to me. I admit we are under some time pressure as well as financial pressure. I need your help because I know I can’t do this alone. I want to hear from each of you in the next 48 hours how you think you could help with this, what role you would like to play. I’ll be speaking to each of you individually to get your ideas and perspectives. I’m looking forward to your support and you can count on me to stay connected and support you all the way. This can be a case study for our success as a team.”

“同志們，謝謝大家的到來。我們現在正面臨一個重大的挑戰，甚至有一部分對我來說也是頭一次遇到。我承認我們現在也面臨着一些時間和財務上的壓力。我需要你們的幫助，因爲我不可能獨立完成這個任務。我想在接下來的48小時裏聽到你們每個人的意見，看看你們覺得你們能幫什麼忙，協助我一起完成這件事，還有你們願意扮演怎樣的角色。我會單獨與你們每個人談話，聽取你們的想法和觀點。我希望獲得你們的支持，我也會全程和你們保持溝通，支持你們。這個任務將來有希望成爲我們團隊的一個成功案例。”

If you start operating this way by inviting others to an opportunity, you will start to discover the real magic of delegating effectively. You no longer have to be the smartest person in the room. People will want to help. People feel honored to be invited and feel motivate. They will trust you and give you their best ideas and best efforts.

如果你用邀請別人參與某個機會的方式來委派任務，那麼你就已經發現了有效委派職責的真正魔力。你不必再是辦公室裏那個最聰明的人。別人會開始想要幫助你。如果你邀請別人參與某個任務，他們會感到光榮，而且還會表現得更有主動性。他們會相信你，爲你貢獻出他們最好的點子，盡最大的努力。

Why? Because you discarded your old ‘I’ perspective and adopted a new ‘We’ perspective. Because you admitted that your old “only I can do this” attitude is the ego-driven mindset of the sole technician and that the new path to your success lies in your commitment to developing others, trusting them, supporting them, rolling up your own sleeves when needed and giving credit to others when credit is due.

爲什麼？因爲你摒棄了以“我”爲中心的視角，開始採用新的以“我們”爲中心的視角；因爲你開始承認那種“這件事只有我才能做好”的態度屬於一種固步自封的“唯技術論”心態。而你的成功最終依賴於你是否努力開發你的下屬、相信你的下屬、支持你的下屬，並在需要的時候挽起袖子親自上陣，在需要論功行賞的時候把功勞留給他們。

Bottom Line: About 80% or your success as a manager or leader lies in your ability to effectively delegate large chunks of responsibility to others. If you want to be seen as an outstanding manager, set your goal to become an outstanding delegator. This is your biggest growth opportunity, your chance to find a “new way of being important”---by becoming a coach that consistently develops others.

總結：作爲一個經理人或領導者，你的成功有80%取決於你能否成功地把大量責任有效地委派給其他人。如果你想在人們心中成爲一名優秀的經理人，首先你要致力於成爲一名優秀的委派者。這是你最大的成長機會，只要努力當一名持續開發其他人的導師，你就能夠找到“體現重要性的新方法”。