Delegation is an area that many managers struggle with. This is surprising not least because one of your key roles as a manager is to get results through others. One would have thought that as part of the appointment process you would have been evaluated in terms of your ability to be a great manager. Reality is that people are often moved in to management roles based on how good you are at doing current role. For example, the great sales person who is promoted to sales manager, the technically great accountant who is put in charge of a team are just a couple of examples.
If you are to succeed as a manager and deliver great performance, it is essential that you understand the benefits of delegating and that you start delegating. So what are the benefits?
Benefit 1: Allows you to focus
When you delegate tasks or jobs that you do not need to be doing, it frees you up to focus on delivering on the areas that your success as a manager will be measured. Too often managers end up spending time on tasks that they should no longer be doing, perhaps because they think they are the only person who can do them or maybe just because they like doing them. Focus on what your success as a manager will be evaluated.
Benefit 2: Opportunity for staff development
Few people want to turn up at work and do the same thing day after day for months or years on end. They like to be stretched and challenged and delegating tasks and responsibilities is a great way of doing this. The great news is that this type of experiential development costs nothing apart form a little bit of time briefing and monitoring.
Benefit 3: Opportunity to develop your skills
Delegation is not just about telling someone that you are no longer doing something and telling the other person that they are now doing it. You need to plan the handover, brief the person, check understanding, set review points, design a review process and give feedback as a minimum. In other words you are getting the opportunity to develop key management skills like communication, planning and monitoring.
Benefit 4: Increased motivation
When staff know that there are going to be opportunities to take on new tasks, responsibilities and learn new things, they will be more motivated to do a good job. Delegating gives a very strong message to others that you trust them, are interested in their growth and want to help them to progress.
Delegation offers real opportunities for you and those that you manage. So what’s your next step?
By: Duncan Brodie
© 2012 Environmental Management
