Delegation is generally speaking seen as something managers should do in order to help their team learn and develop.  It’s not always something that’s well-received, however, as research from the University at Buffalo School of Management illustrates.  The research shows that sometimes delegation can be seen as strong leadership, whereas at others it can be seen as shirking responsibility.

The study suggests that how we feel about delegation can often be dependent on things like your own gender and the perceived competence of your boss.

“Read any popular business publication, and you’ll find articles championing delegation as a highly effective leadership behavior that empowers workers,” the researchers say. “But sometimes, employees don’t see it that way. They see an unsupportive manager who avoids making decisions or doing menial tasks—and they react accordingly.”

Increasing autonomy

Delegation has traditionally had a good reputation as it was seen as a way to boost autonomy, improve productivity, and enhance job satisfaction.  The research highlights, however, how in certain circumstances it can be seen as the manager shirking their responsibilities.

What’s more, when employees view delegation as a form of hands-off leadership, they tend to resort to passive-aggressive resistance to the directives of their manager.  Indeed, the researchers believe this “dysfunctional resistance” to be so grave that it could cost American companies around $50 billion per year.

“If employees think their manager is just passing off unwanted tasks, they probably won’t overtly fight back,” the researchers say. “Instead, they may make a half-hearted effort or pretend they forgot or don’t understand the request.”

Different responses

After surveying employees from different levels of a mental health organization to understand their perceptions of delegation, the level of trust they had in the competence of their boss, and any subsequent resistance behaviors they observed in the workplace, it emerged that uncertainty around the competence of the boss was key, although the gender of the employee heavily influenced responses.

“Women were more likely to give their managers the benefit of the doubt and react positively to delegation,” the researchers explain, “whereas men more readily jumped to the conclusion that their manager was just being lazy and avoiding their leadership responsibilities.”

When employees had more faith in the abilities of their boss, however, there didn’t appear to be any difference in the responses of men or women.  In other words, the way employees responded to the delegation request was based on other factors, regardless of whether the response was a positive or negative one.

“Overall, while delegation can be effective for leaders and organizations, our research shows it can have unintended negative consequences too,” the researchers conclude. “To successfully delegate, managers should consider the nature of the task, communicate openly and ensure their subordinates understand their intentions, expectations and needs—especially if their team is working remotely.”