Delegating is a basic management skill. Most managers know they should pass on some of their tasks to their employees so they can spend more time on strategic work. They also know they should trust their team and not be a micromanager. However, knowing how the procedure of delegation works is not enough. It is important to identify the causes of ineffective delegation and carefully consider whether any of them are relevant to you. Then you'll know what you need to improve. An article on humancapitalleague.com listed the most common causes of ineffective delegation.
Lack of time
Many managers feel they do not have enough time to explain how to perform a particular task, or even to teach their people new skills. They think it is faster to do the task themselves. If you think so too, think again. Once you delegate a task to someone else, you no longer have to deal with it. That is worth a little training.
Fear
The fear of delegation may take various forms. It may be the fear of losing control over certain activities, fear of others making mistakes or even fear of others being successful. That often leads to the situation when a manager delegates a task, but then micromanages the employee who is working on it. If you want to delegate effectively, you have to get rid of the need to constantly keep checking up on people.
Self-interest
Ego is another factor that often plays a major role in managers' reluctance to delegate. You like doing some work and you are good at it, so you do not want to delegate it away, even though you should focus on other things in your current function. In this case, remember that the interests of your team and organization are more important than your personal interests.
Poor planning
If you want to delegate, you must be a good planner. Your people need to know what to do and when they should do it. You have to know what knowledge, skills and other resources they need. At the same time, you should also count on a certain margin in case everything does not go as you planned. If you can't plan properly, you are quite likely to fail at delegation. Maybe it's time to improve your organizational skills.
An employee's negative attitude
If any of your people refuse to accept the tasks you want to delegate to him, there may be several reasons. He may not want more responsibility or does not want to show incompetence. Whatever the reason, you should try to find out what it is and offer help to overcome the obstacle.
Delegating too much
Too much delegation can be a big problem too. Be careful to not overwhelm your employees with too many tasks. Always make sure they have all the necessary resources, including your support.
-kk-