The risk of not delegating

Whether they know it or not, bosses who do not delegate risk delaying their work and that of the entity as a whole. They also inadvertently stall the otherwise timely attainment of an entity’s objectives. Such bosses are sometimes also a cause of departures of some very useful employees. One of the reasons they do not delegate is that they do not trust their juniors. This is because they too are not trustworthy. So they think everyone else is like them. By so doing, they in turn also risk not being trusted by their juniors. They also unnecessarily frustrate their juniors’ loyalty and total commitment to work. Worst of all, they, in this way, spoil the main purpose of delegation, which is meeting work deadlines. They also delay other people’s work in the department or entity whose process of doing their work requires the bosses’ input or go ahead. Clients and customers are also in this way forced to wait unnecessarily for the bosses’ input. In the case of business, sales are delayed by such bosses thus impacting negatively on the company’s overall income and profits. Time conscious customers also stop coming back the next time. The same may, on the whole, impact negatively on the entire business’s goodwill. Another reason for not delegating is that such bosses have certain things they hide, which they do not want their juniors to know. For which reason, they would rather never dare delegate. Unknown to them, nothing can be hidden forever. Soon or later, what has been hidden for sometime will be exposed, one day. The secondary purpose of delegation is to give juniors an opportunity to learn their bosses’ responsibilities, so that they can act in their positions whenever they are physically incapacitated or away on leave or on study tours. Therefore when delegation is not done, the juniors miss this opportunity. It is also common knowledge that when a boss does not delegate he/she causes himself/herself unnecessary stress by having to do too much work by himself/herself within a short time. In this way, he/she unnecessarily brings misery to himself/herself. Delegation Tips It is important to know that delegation is an act of giving away part of one’s work to his/her junior to enable him/her complete what he/she is supposed to do within a given time. The purpose of doing so is to meet work deadlines. It is an exercise that involves a boss sharing part of his/her work with his/her junior. In case, on the contrary, a junior wants to share part of his/her work with his/her boss, to meet work deadlines, such act is known as negotiation. It is not delegation. Likewise, a boss can request his/her counterparts or equals or seniors, to share part of his/her work to meet work deadlines. Such act, too, is not delegation. It is negotiation. Whenever you delegate, ensure that you do so early, at the very beginning of realising that the work you are about to do is too much to finish alone within the required time. Avoid doing so late. For doing so is abdication. Once you decide to delegate, identify the right junior with the right skills. Sit down with him/her and brief him/her properly about the way you want the work done. Without properly briefing him/her, is not delegation. Similarly, delegating without briefing for a reason that the delegate is qualified and experienced enough to know what to do is also a wrong way of delegating. You should then give the delegate your mobile phone number for contacting you about anything he/she wants to ask regarding the delegated work. Alternatively, inform him/her of your whereabouts and movements. On the whole, you must be available for consultation. Avoid disappearing, doing your other things. Likewise, avoid delegating all of your work while you remain with nothing to do. Doing so is not delegation. It is abdication too. When physically available for consultation, keep watching from a distance and sometimes closely, how the delegated person is doing. However, avoid embarrassing him/her by unnecessarily hovering over his/her head or shoulders. In case you spot anything wrong in his/her work, politely correct him/her. In case he/she is in front of other people, call him/her aside or to your office and show him/her the correct way he/she should do things. Avoid correcting him/her in a manner that makes him/her feel out of place. You must remember that although he/she is your junior, the work he/she is doing is yours. It is not his/hers. He/she is doing you a favour of doing it. It is therefore not proper or fair to harass him/her. Negotiation is done in a similar manner to delegation but with due respect since it involvesu your equals or seniors. dalemuta@yahoo.co.uk