Posted by Nikoletta Ventseslavova

Read this if: You want to be a successful manager or grow your one-man business into something bigger.

Gain: The more you delegate the more time you have for other tasks.

Cost: Loss of direct control over tasks.

Why Delegate at all?

An employee gets assignments.  If the job requires working closely with colleagues, each one of the team is responsible for himself. For managers and business owners it’s different.  The responsibility shifts to the whole work process and the final results. The managerial position is sometimes hard, because it demands technical, analytical, organizational skills and communication skills.  Whilst dealing with staff, the most important ability is to delegate well.

The manager cannot do everything on his own. He must perform the same general functions of: planning, coordination, controlling, motivating and organizing. These functions vary. In the lower management levels of an organization there’s less planning, coordination and control, but more in organizing and motivating functions. Regardless of level, the manager’s role is to concentrate on getting the job done and to assign specialized work to qualified employees.

Delegation increases the productiveness of employees. The provision of more duties is accompanied with less control of the working process and more confidence in the staff. Employees become more motivated to fulfil the task and the manager controls only the final evidence of the workflow. The results’ control is not perceived by employees as lack of confidence, while the method of systematic control is interpreted as a lack of trust. On one hand trust releases the manager, so that he can deal with his duties, and on the other hand – the sense of responsibility exercises self-coordination upon the employees.

By delegating employees become more proactive because they are forced to think for themselves. If the CEO always makes decisions and gives the ideas, his subordinates won’t take initiative and won’t feel responsible for the implementation of the tasks. And if they don’t learn, guess who will be overtaxed!

Read more: How to harness the power of your employees

Start with a plan of how to present the staff with the requirements, and how success will be measured.  Then, assess the employees’ skills and experience – choose the right person for the task.

How to Delegate Effectively

Explain the new responsibility in detail, outlining tasks and parameters and setting standards of performance in the teamwork. The employee has to understand clearly what his levels of authority are, who he can turn to for help. Notify the members of the staff, who are affected by the delegate’s power.

Require reactions – ask for suggestions, approaches, ideas, etc. Take into account the comments and react with empathy. Avoid dumping. If the employee feels overwhelmed, establish priorities or take off the pressure by getting someone else to support him.  Be encouraging and express confidence in his ability to handle the new post.

Monitor the progress. Establish deadlines and require feedback.

Observe and contact the delegate – delegating means letting go, no hovering needed here. Finally, reward – the successful completion of the assignments.

In conclusion, a summary of the benefits of the delegation process: