The Truth About How To Delegate  

June 6, 2006
Author: Tom Perkins - Business Development Coach and Certified Personal Trainer   

Andrew Carneige once said “no person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit.” I firmly believe that this is true.  If you want your business to grow and you want to have the opportunity to enjoy it, you have to learn to delegate responsibility and authority.  True, for some of us, this is a difficult thing to master.  After all, who truly feels comfortable with standing back and allowing someone else to take the wheel? 

However, as an owner and/or manager wanting to run a successful company, you must achieve the ability to delegate authority properly. How much authority will depend largely on your individual situation.  At a minimum, you should consider delegating enough authority to get the job done, to permit key employees to take the initiative, and to keep everything running in your absence. 

The people you delegate responsibilities to obviously must have the competency to do the job, but also show the interest, initiative and imagination to get the job done.  In short, choose wisely.  Also understand that most capable  people want to know for what they are being held responsible. Therefore, make sure that you carefully spell out your expectations and their responsibilities and authority. That way, you reduce the risk of confusion as well as assure that there is no doubt about who is responsible for what job. 

Delegating does not mean that you need to feel as if you are giving up control.  In fact, you just need to modify how you control your business.  For example, hold the individual you’ve assigned the job to responsible for their actions and exercise control by periodically checking those actions.  Keep informed by receiving feedback and reports as to what is getting done.  They can be daily, weekly or monthly reports depending on your timetable.   

Delegation is not just about exercising good control techniques.  It’s also about coaching your staff and learning to actively listen.  Coaching allows your employees the opportunity to improve their skills.  Hence, it is essential that when you provide them with instructions that you also provide a reason so that they are better able to perform their assigned responsibilities.   

Finally, it’s important to remember that no two people react or perform the same job the same way.  Learn to judge your employees by the results they achieve, not necessarily by the path they choose to take to get there.  (Of course, we are talking about pursuing a professional and ethical path).  The point is that you need to be prepared to see some actions taken differently from the way you may have handled it.  That’s okay.  Don’t attempt to second-guess your employees because you risk destroying their self-confidence.  Unless they are not performing their delegated responsibilities or are showing shortcomings that can not be overcome, step back and let those employees prove their worth.    After all, Ronald Reagan summed it best:  “surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere.”

Article Reprint Agreement