Great Leaders Delegate & Here’s Why!

If you’re a leader who chooses not to delegate to others, then there is a good chance that you’re not as useful to your employer as you think you are. Supervisors use many excuses not to share the workload, but at the heart of all of them, is a leader who underestimates the extent to which the benefits of delegating outweigh the short-term costs.  Supervisors who don’t delegate waste the organization’s time and money, and don’t optimally promote the organizations strategic objectives.

Why don’t supervisors delegate? Some are just “control freaks” and others calculate that it’s easier for them to “do it themselves” than to take the time to explain what needs to be done and then provide correction if needed. They may even feel threatened that someone may learn their responsibilities and render them less valuable to the organization. They may just feel that their ability to perform certain tasks gives them status and puts them in their comfort zone. Whatever the reasons and excuses are, when a supervisor fails to delegate, they’re missing great opportunities for the business!  We’ll explore the top five strategic reasons why you should delegate to those around you, and tips that will help you avoid “delegation mistakes”.

The Strategic Case for Delegating

1. Delegating to others minimizes unnecessary costs spent in your absence.

• Your employer doesn’t have to have an unseasoned person make costly mistakes performing tasks in your absence.

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 2.  Delegation gives you more freedom! 

• An employee can perform aspects of your job when you’re not available (unexpected medical leave, vacations, emergencies).

3.  Delegating advances your organization’s succession plan. 

• If you aren’t training others around you to do your job, then you aren’t helping to build a pipeline of talent that your employer may need to draw upon to fill vacancies.  This may limit opportunities to expand the business and /or promote you.

4.  Delegation is a time management strategy.

• As you share the workload, you’ll have more time to work on activities that are proactive and help the organization advance it’s strategic goals.

5. Delegation allows all tasks to become learning opportunities.

• Research consistently shows that employees perform best when they are engaged, learning new skills and given autonomy.
• In the context of training, employees can feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes that will ultimately lead to an increased skill set.
• When you delegate, you’re able to identify strengths and weaknesses, which allow for the development of goals to improve.
• Employee morale and respect for you as a credible leader increases.

 Mistakes to Avoid when Delegating

If supervisors delegate ineffectively, they can have a negative impact on morale and the business.  Supervisors should be careful to avoid mistakes by heeding the following advice:

1.  Don’t hold employees accountable for a task they haven’t been trained to accomplish.

• Remember that the art of delegating consists of teaching and letting people grow in a supportive environment, not giving people enough “rope to hang themselves”.
• Reward the learning process versus just the outcome.  Reward an employee’s desire to learn a new skills.  If they are punished for making mistakes, their innovation and motivation can be suppressed.

2.  Don’t play favorites when delegating to employees.

• This can be used to support a claim that an employee was discriminated against in their training opportunities which affected whether or not they can be promoted.
• This can negatively impact the morale of other employees.

3.  Effectively explain how the employee and the organization benefits from delegating to the employee.

• A supervisor can have a negative impact on morale by making the employee feel that they aren’t being compensated for doing more work.  Supervisors have to be able to communicate the big picture effectively with “what’s in it for the employee” delineated.
• Work with the employee to identify professional goals and skills that will help them achieve them, during the performance evaluation.

To reap the benefits of delegating to others,  it’s important to have an organizational culture that supports the time allotted and tolerance of mistakes which must accompany the learning process.  All leaders need to be on the same page so that they can prioritize and decide which, if any, short-term projects need to be sacrificed in order to achieve the long-term goals.  The organization has to reward both the outcomes of the job performance and the process used to achieve those outcomes.

Although delegating to those around you can be time-consuming at first, the benefits are huge! Delegating to others is a powerful method of developing those around you, managing your time, and  increasing efficient operations.  By developing those around you, you gain valuable time to be proactive and advance the strategic direction of your organization.  Delegating your job tasks to others will actually increase your value as a  strategic partner to your employer!  ©Denise Scotti-Smith 2013.  All rights Reserved.