To whom should you delegate?
Delegation is the assigning of authority to others to carry out tasks, functions and decisions with the set goals of an organization. Delegation of authority is important to an organization in that managers are able to focus on direct or specific goals of the organization. In any organization today, big or small, the work assigned to managers to accomplish in a given time might be too much. The organization main goal is to be productive and efficient in producing goods and services. In order for production to be at it maximum, manager cannot do all work assigned to them, thus delegation of task is passed to sub ordinates within the organization. The sub ordinates and managers are all striving for a common goal within the organization. In many organizations managers do not have to do all of the work the company assigned to them, there will be many employees that are knowledgeable and capable of completing the task effectively. In delegating task to sub ordinates managers have to consider the following.
Who do managers delegate the task too? Many managers are afraid to delegate responsibilities to sub ordinates due to the fact that they think sub ordinates will not get the work done right. Managers can spot effective sub ordinate, based on their interest in the organization and their capability to do a great job. The individual that is chosen should be a respectful person that shows commands and deserve the respect of others. The individual chosen should also be an assertive and competent in solving problems. They should also be accountable have an interest in the task as well as knowledge. The individual chosen should adhere to the proper chain of command within the organization so that information is passed correctly to other sub ordinates. The idea is to get someone who can complete the task within a given time period effectively increasing the sales of the organization and maximizing the productivity, as well as the opinion the public have on the organization. Every employee is best at something, a manager choosing an employee has to choose the right individual in that the one that will love his or her job and be able to work smarter and faster within the given period for the task to be completed. The objective of the manager is to get the right person to do the job and at the same time get an individual who would enjoy the task given to them.
Managers first have to assign the task to the most capable sub ordinate, when the most suitable sub ordinate is found let him or her know why they were chosen. Offer genuine compliments and let sub ordinates know what strong points were recognized in them that made them different from the rest of the employees. Encourage them and let them know that they can do a wonderful job for the organization as a whole. Let sub ordinates know that their ideas and decisions are important to complete the task, and as a manager appreciated the effort as long as the final outcome is what is expected. Give sub ordinates a chance to make their own decisions while working on their task. Allow sub ordinates to solve any problem which they may encounter using their own ideas.
Once the task is assign, clearly define the expectation to the sub ordinate, a manager should not get too involve in the task assigned, being supportive and allowing sub ordinate to carry out the task based on his or her own judgment. At the same time a manager should ensure that sub ordinate are on the correct part and are using the right method to complete the task.
Secondly, ensure that sub ordinate understands their responsibility in carrying out the task assigned to them. Managers should ensure that sub ordinates clearly understands their responsibility, ensure that sub ordinates can define clearly what is expected of them and a manager should allow sub ordinates to repeat what is expected of them, if in the repetition process ideas of the task are unclear, it is the manager’s duty to educate the sub ordinate of the task at hand and to ensure a common goal is being aimed for the benefit of the organization.
Thirdly a manager must ensure that the communication between both parties is clearly understood and that the sub ordinate has a clear and concise, definition of the scope and the level of authority needs to be clear. Sub ordinate needs to know what decisions they can make on independently and what decisions needs the permission of higher authority. It is always important for sub ordinates to know the scope in which the delegated task can stretch to. Organizations have to keep in mind that even if work within the company is being delegated, employees should be abiding with the standards of the organization.
The authority delegated to the sub ordinate should not be too limited, sub ordinates may be de motivated in achieving their goals. At the same time the authority that is passed to the sub ordinate cannot be too broad, where sub ordinates lose focus on the objective of the task and violates the law of the organization.
The delegation of a task to sub ordinates allow the employee to grow within the company and sub ordinates should feel free to ask any questions while trying to accomplish the task assigned to them, sub ordinates however should not feel as though they cannot accomplish the task at hand, a manager should give them a chance to use their own ideas to solve problems that may arise or hinder the progress of the task to be completed. Sub ordinates should feel at ease to make trial and error based on their judgment and knowledge of the task. As a manager resist the temptation to dive into the task and complete it yourself. A manager should let sub ordinates used their ideas and imagination to solve problems, a manager should be there to support and suggest solutions. A manager should be a supporting factor if the need arises
As a manager one should be proactive, provide guidance and assistance to sub ordinates if the need arises. A manager should be able to provide training if needed and ensure sub ordinates clearly understands what is expected of them, to avoid sub ordinates from becoming frustrated about the task to be performed. Sub ordinates should be able to confident and capable to carry out the task assigned to them. A manager should provide an avenue for sub ordinates to voice their opinion or ideas of new discoveries from the task assigned to them. In doing so, a manager is able to make changes in the event the task is not successful or assigned the task to someone else if expectation is not suitable or the task is not of the required standards of the company. Another important aspect of delegating task is to set check points, intervals throughout the project to ensure that the task is carried out properly. Check points would assist the delegator to spot a major disaster before the end result is achieved. Feedback from the sub ordinate should be provided reports and check-ins through e mails or contact via telephone. Ensure you as the delegator are supportive of the effort of the sub ordinate carrying out the task.
Consequences should also be set and sub ordinates should know what is expected if the task is not completed to the expectation of the delegator and also if the task is completed within the required time rewards should be given to the employee publicly. The recognition of an effort or an excellent completion of a project give sub ordinate the motivation to strive for excellence the next time they are given the opportunity to complete another task for their organization. When expectations are set for sub ordinates they are motivated to perform to the best of their ability and to avoid being unsuccessful in performing their task. Even in the event the outcome of the task was not achieve to the liking of the delegator, the delegator should appraise the effort the sub ordinate invested in the attempt to complete the given task.
Feedback should be given at all times to ensure that progression is being made and that the task is being achieved.
Delegation can be very effective within an organization to share the burden of work loaded to superiors. With proper selection of individuals to complete the task the delegation of decisions, task, and functions can be passed to sub ordinates within the organization. The delegation of task within an organization has many advantages as well as disadvantages to the organization.
Advantages of delegating tasks given, the burden of the work load on superiors are shared among individuals that are capable and knowledgeable. Superiors thus are not overloaded and pressure with task assigned to them. With superiors having fewer tasks assigned to them they can concentrate on key areas of the organization without be side tract of all other task given to them. It also allows superiors to make better judgment on the core areas of the organization and to stay focus on maximizing the overall productivity of the whole organization. When task is delegated to subordinates, they feel a sense of worth to the organization that they are capable of producing results and assisting with the productivity of the organization. The delegation of task also motivates sub ordinates to work efficiently, and their ideas are used to make decisions within the organization to foster growth.
The disadvantage of delegating tasks is not finding the most capable person to perform the job, by letting an incapable individual handle the delegation of task might lead to frustration and incompletion of the task. The main goal of the organization is to be efficient and productive.
Delegation enhances the productivity of the work environment and allows ever one involve to be part of a common goal. To delegate means to achieve the goals of the organization as a team and to share the success and failure of the organization.
References
http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/how-to-guides/how-to-delegate-work-and-responsibility/ http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/how-to-guides/how-to-delegate-work-and-responsibility/ http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lupia/delegation.pdf http://www.readysetpresent.com/products/articles/delegation.htm http://www.growinggreatness.com/gg_articles/How_to_Delegate_Effectively.pdf