Читать книгу Delegating Effectively: A Leader's Guide to Getting Things Done - Clemson Turregano - Страница 8

Why Delegate?

Have you ever found yourself asking, “Why do I always seem to be doing all the work?” In today’s organizations, leaders are neither able nor expected to do everything themselves. The consequences of trying to do so can include burnout, missed deadlines, working long hours, being stretched too thin, and lacking the proper skills needed to complete a particular task. Failing or refusing to delegate can even contribute to a leader’s derailment—being fired or demoted or reaching a career plateau. Effective delegation is largely about being able to relate to people in productive ways, and the inability to do so is the most common reason for derailment.

These are all reasons why the ability to delegate effectively—to apportion the work among the people you supervise—is an essential leadership skill and responsibility in fast-changing environments that require high initiative and quick responses from frontline employees.

Delegating involves assigning new projects and responsibilities to individuals or a team and providing the authority, resources, directions, and support needed to achieve the expected results. Delegating is more than merely telling someone what to do. Issuing orders demands compliance; it does not engender commitment or contribute to job satisfaction. People are likely to have more commitment to implementing a decision when they feel they have ownership of the decision and are accountable for its consequences. Delegation starts with creating an environment of trust and dialogue reflecting your understanding of your colleagues and the tasks that need to be accomplished.

Nor is delegation simply task assignment, which is allocating work to an individual that falls within the realm of his or her usual duties and responsibilities. Rather, delegation involves giving someone the authority to do something that is normally part of the leader’s job.

The Center for Creative Leadership, in its work with thousands of leaders over a period of more than forty years, has developed some ideas about delegation that will be helpful for you. This guidebook outlines the benefits of effective delegation and the fears and concerns that can prevent or hinder it, then offers four key ideas that leaders can use to enable better delegation.