For any business to run effectively, smoothly, and productively, delegation is a vital managerial skill. It is for the simple reason that the higher one goes up in their career ladder, the more responsibilities get added to their plate, and carrying on with the same workflow strategy won’t generate a greater benefit for the organization. However, some managers tend to be reluctant when it comes to delegating tasks to their team members.
Why some managers avoid delegation:
1. Obsession with control and wanting to micromanage.
2. Perfectionism and worrying that the job won’t get done the same way they’d do it themselves.
3. Feeling guilty about adding new tasks to the team.
4. Thinking it would take more time and effort to explain how to get it down.
5. Lack of trust and confidence in the team.
This is how it looks like in the mind of the manager who avoids delegating, while in fact, delegation will make the job easier not just for managers but for the entire organization. When managers delegate, they create more room for themselves for creativity, innovation, and planning. At the same time, they create new opportunities for the team members to learn something new and develop their leadership skills.
The point is not just about delegating or throwing responsibilities here and there but rather about knowing how to delegate effectively.
1. Choose the right person for the job. As a leader, you should be aware of the strengths of each of your employees so that when you decide to delegate you make sure you are passing the task to the person who would it get it done right.
2. Provide clear and right instructions. In order not to become a micromanager or overwhelm your team with a task they are clueless about, you should be providing your team with clear instructions about their new task or role. In doing so you spare yourself the time of going back and forth explaining, correcting, and clearing things out.
3. Delegate not just tasks but also authorities and responsibilities. As you begin to take a bigger role you have to clear more room and time for newly added responsibility. Accordingly, you will have to assign some of your current responsibilities to a team member.
4. Provide training and enough resources. Never delegate before making sure your team members are well prepared for the job in terms of needed resources or knowledge. Run frequent training so that whenever the time comes for delegation you can rest assured that you have a team that is up for the new role.
5. Be results oriented. Focus on the results and not how they get things done. Avoid micromanaging and understand that if your team member does things differently than you doesn’t mean they are doing it wrong as soon as they reach the objective and achieve results.
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