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LAWN BOWLS: Delegation is essentially subsidiary or procedural power of an enactment of which allows a performance to be achieved by individuals or groups of bowlers particularly in the team and side environment. The skip doesn’t and can’t do everything; at times the team or side must function effectively without their skips. For this to happen, however, decisions must be continuously made about what to delegate prior to, during and after events. Delegation is a tool that aligns duties for maximum performance and skill training, at the same time avoid mental overload and physical burnout of team or side members.What to delegate: Here are five areas where most skippers could delegate more work that fits into these categories and should be delegated;

• Tactics: Problems or issues that require exploration, study and recommendations for decisions at briefings, during the game and at debriefings,
• Playing positions: Activities that come within the scope of the individual playing positions and abilities e.g. duties, laws of the game, measuring, compiling the score card and score board, and bowls etiquette,
• Goals: Tasks that tap human talent in a positive direction towards individual, team and side goals and needs towards the bowler’s development and growth,
• Fitness: The maintenance of physical, mental and game fitness,
• Playing standards: Statistics or activities that, if well handled by team members, could conserve the coaches valuable time.

Controversy: Conversely, some things should not be delegated;

• Planning: Setting plans within larger plans and objectives,
• Morale: Morale problems of considerable importance outside the team unit,
• Reconciliation: Reconciling differences between line and staff members,
• Confidentially: A significant or confidential assignment,
• Over delegation: Allocating someone else to a particular part of a problem, when someone else is already working on the whole problem,
• Pet projects: Certain pet projects, ideas or activities, when these do not cut with your larger responsibilities or the responsibilities of individual team positions,

Delegators: Those who delegate must:

• Understand the need for delegation: The skippers must understand and agree that delegation is necessary. Side and team members must understand their obligations,
• Designate goals and objectives: All parties must understand club organizational goals and objectives. There should be general agreement on what is to be done, why, how well, when. In what priority, with what resources and by whom,
• Know strengths of team members: the skips should know the characteristics and capabilities of teams members and delegate according to their interests and capabilities,
• Communicate with superiors: the skip should reach an understanding with those above about what is to be re-delegated,
• Negotiate performance standards: performance standards must be broad enough to encourage individual initiative, creativity and club organizational loyalty. Coaches, skips and team members should agree on them, if possible, in a way that each member can feel he or she is fully participating member,
• Agree on areas not to be delegated: any exception to delegation should be clearly explained by the supervisor e.g. coach or manager and should be understood to be exception rather than the rule,
• Plan for determining skill and training: delegation should include the opportunity for testing the bowler’s playing skills by the coach and provide any necessary training,
• Show your interest: supervisor such as coaches, selectors, managers and club committee etc should show genuine interest in what is being done by sides and team members,
• Measure results: results can be assessed in a variety of ways such as; the use of systems of reporting in key result areas, measurement of performance and evaluation of standards of achievement,
• Offer help and more training: when tactfully correcting errors, the emphasis should be on target-setting. Continuous training can bring about self-corrections on the part of all team members.

Mannerisms: If delegating is a new experience for you, don’t be overcautious. Start with basic tasks that are not critical. Work your way up to the point where others are doing everything they can do well and you are performing those managerial functions that you can and should be doing yourself. You will then be managing your team and managing your time as well. When you fail to delegate effectively, look for the reason. Mannerisms to include are as follows;

• Lack of patience: It takes longer to explain than to correct it yourself,
• Insecurity: Recently promoted skippers are often not yet comfortable in their new jobs and can’t resist going back to tell their replacement how to proceed,
• Anxiety: So eager to prove themselves that they refuse to delegate,
• Inflexibility: Convinced that nothing can be done properly unless done personally,
• Inadequacy: Fear of being shown up,
• Occupational hobby: So attached to some aspects of the job that they just don’t want to delegate it,
• Delegating: In the wrong environment.

Remedy: The remedy for effective delegating is as follows;

• Step 1: Do it in a controlled environment e.g. at briefings, during the game and at debriefings,
• Step 2: Recognition of the above mannerisms and practice eliminating them.
• Step 3: Delegation is a skill that is learned through practice.

Places of delegation: While others may be entirely out of your realm, that doesn’t matter! Your assignment is to decide whether you or your club or team members should handle each listed task. Knowing all about making decisions won’t really help you until you learn how and where to delegate. Your assignment is to decide whether you or your team should handle each listed task. Consider your total time management program as you make decisions within briefings, during the game and at debriefings, you will be amazed at the team’s cooperation and the time saved. The correct answer is to use these areas for delegation. Never delegate within the confines of the club where others members not in your team can hear. The whole purpose of this is to start you and your team members thinking about using the fullest potential and so encourage you to seriously evaluate the team’s and your own disposition of the duties and responsibilities.