Failure to delegate is a common fault of many leaders. Since leaders in the corporate world tend to be people of action, and like the action, they tend to take on tasks that would best be delegated to others in the organization.
Leaders should be spending their time doing what they can best do, or more importantly, what they can ONLY do. There are a number of benefits and advantages to delegation:
- helps reduce workload for the leader, and has the added potential benefit of helping to counteract the trend towards leader burnout
- often the people “below” the leader in the hierarchy are better able to carry out certain tasks, or are more informed or knowledgeable, since they are closer to the action. Thus, better decisions and actions are possible provided those below the leader understand the direction and general strategy of the organization.
- delegation sends the message to employees that the leader trusts their abilities provided delegation is done properly and tasks are not simply dumped.
- delegation provides an opportunity for others in the organization to gain more experience and develop their skills and abilities, thus becoming more valuable
Obviously, when leaders under delegate, they lose these benefits. It’s worth knowing that delegation requires some skill and forethought. We’ve pulled together an extensive summary guide — Delegation For Managers Helpcard that you will find useful in making sure you know why delegation is important, and how to do it properly.
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