Delegation: Avoid these common mistakes

Studies show that CEOs who excel in delegating generate 33 percent higher revenue. This considered, if you were to go on leave, would you trust that things in your department or company will run and tasks will be accomplished?

Mark, a leader in a middle-sized manufacturing company went on his annual leave. However, he kept receiving calls and emails from employees and clients. He realised that some of the issues they reached out to him with, did not need his attention. What’s even worse, there were several missed deadlines as a result.

For Mark to enjoy his break, he needed to develop the skill of delegation.

Why is delegation important not only for you but for your employees?

1. Benefits for you as a leader

It frees up your time to focus on the bigger picture/strategy.

If there is something Covid-19 has taught us, is planning for and thinking about the future. If we focus on roles our employees can handle, we will not be able to focus on the bigger picture.

As a leader, we recommend that for half your day, you can be involved with what your employees are doing by assigning responsibilities and guiding them where necessary and for the other half, you can focus on the business strategy.

The less firefighting you do, the better.

Leaders require time to set the direction of the future of their organisation and ensure they have a competitive advantage. The delegation leaves you with time to focus on things that require your expertise and energy.

2.  Benefits for your employees

It boosts morale and increases productivity

As managers, salary is not the only factor that motivates employees. Employee career growth can also be enhanced by developing their skills through training and having more responsibilities. This is good for motivation.

It gets them out of their comfort zone which in return boosts morale, productivity and talent retention.

Common Obstacles Leaders face when delegating;

1. Lack of trust

It is crucial for employees to feel that you trust their skills and abilities in completing tasks.

Employees will value the step you take in training them when you give them new responsibilities.

Ensure to delegate in chunks. It helps you to master your employee’s performance and abilities.

2. Being a perfectionist

Sometimes we feel like if someone else does the task at hand, they won’t do it as perfectly as we would.

The truth of the matter is, one person cannot do everything. Successful leaders hire competent people and leave them to do their jobs.

Employees will appreciate it when you empower them to take up responsibilities without having you micromanage them.

3. Lack of skills in team members

If you have looked around your team members and you don’t find anyone you can delegate to, think of training or getting on team someone competent.

4. Leaders practice reverse delegation

Reverse delegation happens when a manager delegates a task and ends up taking it back at some point to work on it themselves.

As a result, employees’ morale and confidence in accomplishing tasks will suffer. You will also not have achieved your goal, which is to delegate.

Employees who are confident in their abilities can deliver. All you need is to guide and direct them towards achieving the business goals.

5. At the first sign of trouble, you intervene

Your employees cannot learn without making mistakes. Give them a chance to fail, as only through failure will they learn.

As leaders, if we intervene at every chance of failure, it will not empower our employees to be more innovative and take initiative.

Employees will feel empowered when we accord them the freedom to be innovative while guiding them through the tasks instead to ensure successful completion.

6. Lack of communication

Delegating requires a lot of communication. Employees feel more comfortable approaching us to ask questions, bounce off ideas with us, give and get feedback from us.

Employees may not understand their roles if you do not communicate the bigger picture. Therefore, they won’t be as engaged in ensuring business success.

Conclusion

Delegation is one of the key skills leaders need to practice to ensure business success.