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Many of us have a lot of knowledge on the importance of delegation. Unfortunately knowledge does not make any difference. It is the practice where is rubber truly meets the road. Like many other managers and entrepreneurs, I knew the theory of delegation. Practice only told me the real pitfalls and help me derive a successful methodology. The Art of Delegation has three important steps:
- You need to be good in discerning whom to delegate to
- You need to train the person in taking care of the delegated responsibilities
- You need to give real opportunities to the person to practice the delegated tasks
We often make mistake in finding the right person to whom we need to delegate. Many have the competence but not the will or consistency at work making them not competent for some delegation. Due care has to be therefore taken in selecting the recipient for delegation.
Secondly just delegating is not enough. The person has to be trained appropriately in performing the delegated task/function/responsibility. Delegation without training can be a major pitfall for entrepreneurs as they may not have time or patience to carry this out, not realizing “hoping” is not a magic ward. I typically now spend time in training most on job in the areas delegated. Thereafter I ensure the person is given enough opportunities to perform the delegated job while the manager keep an eye over it. Finally one can let go, only keeping periodic review in place.
Lack of bandwidth can be single point of failure for an entrepreneur. Delegation is the only saviour. One however has to ensure that delegation itself should not become a failure by not taking enough precautions and following the right process.
