440 — Terrible task? Just delegate it!

What drives your delegation decisions? Is it what's best for the business? Is it what's best for your team member? Is it what's best for you?

In this week's edition of The Mindtools L&D Podcast, Ross G, Ross D and Dr Anna discuss:

• Why managers sometimes delegate tasks that they know are too difficult
• How the organization's culture shapes those decisions
• How to help managers delegate better.

The paper we discussed throughout this podcast was:

Maas, V. S., & Shi, B. (2023). The effects of target difficulty and relative ability on managers' delegation decisions. Management Accounting Research, 60, 100851.

Ross G also referenced:

Crossley, C. D., Cooper, C. D., & Wernsing, T. S. (2013). Making things happen through challenging goals: Leader proactivity, trust, and business-unit performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(3), 540.

In 'What I Learned This Week', Ross D discussed the concept of 'moving day', as reported on by The Atlantic.

For more from us, visit mindtools.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning Content Hub, our Manager Skills Assessment, our Manager Skill Builder and our custom work. 

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with us on LinkedIn:

• Ross Garner
• Dr Anna Barnett
• Ross Dickie