Increasing your willingness to delegate can be challenging for many individuals. There is a tendency for individuals to resist delegating tasks because they are use to doing the work themselves. Effective delegation is a process where the responsibility and authority for performing a task is handed over to another individual to perform. That individual (delegate) then accepts the responsibility to complete the task. At all times the individual that delegates the task remains accountable and has the responsibility that the task has been completed. Delegation that is done successfully empowers and builds trust and strengthens communication with employees and is a foundation for building a teamwork environment.
Tasks can only be delegated when you are responsible for those tasks. If you have no ties to the task, then you cannot delegate the task. For instance, in health care the RN delegates tasks to unlicensed care givers like nursing assistants or Student nurses to complete vital signs and checking blood sugars. Ultimately the RN remains responsible to ensure that the task is completed and done correctly and accurately. In this case the RN is also transferring the authority, the RN has empowered another individual to complete the task.
The individuals that the task was assigned to complete will also gains benefits from following through and completing the delegated task. The delegate is given opportunity to learn new skills making them a more valuable employee. The delegation process has the effect of increasing job satisfaction and creating new challenges for employees that previously were not able to expand their role and take on new tasks.. The end result of this is an employee that feels good about their job and you should see increased cooperation and teamwork. This is a win-win situation for both the individual that delegates and the delegate.
One of the major problems with delegation is a leader that believes there is no one else capable of completing a task except themselves. This is an example of very narrow minded thinking and will never build a teamwork environment where every employee feels that they are valued. This is very negative on productivity because leadership has less time to focus on tasks they need to complete because of their reluctance to delegate tasks to another individual. You will often see this type of individual complain that they cannot get their work done because they are reluctant to delegate tasks.
When tasks are delegated to another individual, it is important to be cognisant of another individual skill levels and abilities. It is vital to ensure that they can successfully perform the task that has been delegated to them. Communication must always be clear and effectively communicated so there is no breakdown in understanding what the expectations are.
Once you have given the delegate your expectations, make sure the delegate accepts the responsibility and authority for performing the task. Remain accessible and always be supportive to the delegate. This is how you build a trusting atmosphere. If you are one of the individuals who are hesitant to delegate, monitor yourself that you are not following the delegate too closely. They need some space to function and do the task. If you do not allow this to happen, you are sending a message that you do not trust the individual. The hardest thing for some individuals to learn is that in order to build trust you must give up control.
You need to have an awareness that a lack of experience and fear of failure can cause a delegate to refuse to complete the delegated task This is when the individual that delegated needs to step in and offer support and assist the delegate to complete a task This is another example of building a teamwork environment.
If you choose to work by yourself, it will limit the amount of work you can accomplish. There are only so many tasks and procedures you can complete in your scheduled working day. Delegation yields a better working environment and helps to maintain a health work life balance. In other words if all you do in a day is work and then stay later because you have not been able to complete your job, you basically have no life outside of work. Delegation is necessary and a mechanism to decrease stress and time and energy spent at the workplace and is a necessary component of building teamwork.