Overcoming the reluctance to delegate
By Futhi Cabe, WesBank Head of SME Segment
Delegation is an important management tool for business owners and imperative for an organisation's efficiency. Some managers have difficulty in delegating, showing a reluctance to do so, and thereby not delegating as often as they should. It could be said that managers talk themselves out of it. In fact, many managers are capable of citing a whole spectrum of reasons as to why they are reluctant to delegate. Such reasons should not form part of a business' culture if it wants to succeed, and in order to be an effective manager and leader, it's simple, you must delegate.
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Make the time to delegate
No doubt you will have heard, or even said, some of the following statements: "I am too busy to delegate"; "The project is too complicated to explain to someone else"; "There is no time to train someone else"; and "The process takes too long". If your reluctance to delegate is because of any of these, then not only do you have a delegation problem, but you probably have a time-management one as well. It is important to remind oneself that skilful delegation actually saves time. -
Admit that others can do it as well as you can
The perfectionist thinks and says "no one can do the job as well as I can." If you say that you can do the job better yourself and therefore do it yourself, you will find yourself doing ALL the work in your business. Understand that it is impossible to do everything yourself, and you need to try to stop doing this as soon as possible. In the long run, your energy will be depleted, your health will decline, and in turn, so will your business. The African proverb "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" is most appropriate in these circumstances. -
Accept that other people might make mistakes
Is your reluctance to delegate because you think that your subordinates might make mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes. In fact, you need to allow your staff room to make mistakes, as this will allow them to grow and develop. Within reason mistakes can be regarded as a staff development expense. Of course, you can mitigate risks by ensuring that you expose your staff to skills development training, counselling, and importantly, to detailed and clear instructions. This will give them an added level of confidence and minimise the possibility of repeated mistakes. -
Learn to trust your assistants' capabilities
Familiarise yourself with each individual staff member's capability. It could be that you lack confidence in their ability to get the job done. This lack of trust is usually unwarranted. You will be pleasantly surprised that many people only need to be given a chance to prove themselves. Be the one to give others that chance and watch them develop. Their growth is your growth. -
Suppress all fear that you will lose control
Fear of losing control can be a sign of insecurity. Insecure managers sometimes fear they will lose control of their 'empire' through delegation if their staff perform better given more duties. If you are guilty of this, be warned that you could be self-sabotaging your business, as well as yourself as a leader. Unless you embrace the art of delegation, your more capable team members will leave while the weak ones sit back and let you do all the work. This is dangerous to you personally and to the business. Be inwardly secure enough to share your wisdom, and in turn, develop your staff. You really have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. -
Believe that delegation is not a sign of weakness
Some managers do not delegate for fear of being labelled as "passing the buck". If this is one of your fears, you need to learn that managers regularly face criticism of their management styles. You need to overcome such fears if you are intent on delegating freely and effectively. Delegation is anything but a sign of weakness. As a matter of fact, not delegating is to ignore one of people management's most valuable and effective assets. -
Your staff expect you to delegate
It cannot be said enough, that one of the signs of a good manager, is the ability to delegate effectively. Your team expects you to delegate some tasks to them. It is intrinsic to human beings to feel valued and that they make a contribution. People want to create meaning in what they do. When you delegate, you elevate the level of confidence in those to whom you delegate. By not delegating to them, you could be devaluing them, albeit unintentionally.
ENDS.