Maverick Mastery®

The pressures to work more efficiently are as important as ever in the current climate and deligation is often an area in which many small business owners struggle. Often used to taking control and managing tasks from start to finish, business leaders need to proactively manage their time so that it is spend guiding the business forward. Leadership specialist Judith Germain explains why delegation is so important in growing SME’s and why it should be seen not so much of a burden as it is a reward and may lead to the discovery of a successor within the business.

The importance of delegation within a growing business

Delegation is crucial for effective succession. A successor is much needed in a growing business, so everyone can move on to higher things without depending on people from outside the business, however this can be provoked if the manager fails to provide good delegation skills. Many growing businesses suffer because of the inability for business owners and key personnel to delegate responsibilities to their teams. This not only stifles the growth of employees but hampers the company’s ability to move into the right direction. This also stops them from meeting their personal business objectives.

When a manager can’t delegate properly he runs the risk of increasing employee turnover due to employees being de-motivated. The business is then likely to suffer as it will start spiralling out of control and become stagnant. This can be a result of either not enough delegation, or micromanagement, which occurs when the manager provides too much input and direction into the task he set to the assigned person, leaving them feel un-motivated and soul destroyed as they don’t get the freedom. Without following guidelines to good delegation your business may result in a slow death.

How to know what to delegate

Managers should delegate tasks to the subordinate that are non core to what they do. They should be tasks that will make the individual reasonably confident with completion and success but that will develop and stretch their knowledge at the same time. So basically you should give them tasks that could be done better by someone else but by letting them try they will feel more motivated, maybe even more than the usual person you assign to the certain task.

What the manager needs to do to delegate successfully

First of all he needs to make sure he has chosen the right individual(s) and that they fully understand the task provided. Secondly that they feel confident that they can achieve the task to a good standard, which you should then choose certain times of checking on their progress but make sure you don’t approach them too often or they may feel nervous of making wrong actions. You should kindly talk through a mistake with the individual if it occurs but do it in a way that’s still leaving them motivated. Praise them for good work as this will spur them on and make them do an even better job. Last but not least make sure that they have the resources they need in order to complete the task.

How to select the right people to delegate to

You should keep an eye out for the individuals who are operating below their capability, or individuals that are wanting to develop further, as well as the people that can handle additional workloads, or sometimes aim for the people who arent performing to their greatest abilites, especially the troublesome ones as this may keep them engaged in working more effitiently and enjoy their jobs more.
If you are not sure what tools they need, just ask them! Or show them someone who can guide them to success, for example someone who regularly does the task provided.

How to provide effective feedback

Feedback should be transparent, honest and constructive. You should criticise on what they are doing wrong but praise them for what they are doing right, and provide them with constructive critisism so its not taken to heart but will be thoroughly improved. Remember everyone learns from their mistakes.

What role remains for the manager once he/she has delgated

Strategic thinking or planning is not done by enough managers as it is quite time consuming, however once you’ve delegated it gives you time to focus on things that happen next instead of getting in a muddle. He/she will even be able to take time out to work on developing the team and improving the overall performance of his department or company. This leaves them on top and possibly ahead of other businesses.

Tags: Leadership, Talent Management

This entry was posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 am and is filed under Articles, Leadership, Talent Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.