Just as many managers fail to successfully make the transition from general management to executive management, because of the sometimes disorienting difference in the way you have to view how you get “your” work done, many people fail to make the transition from line employee to general management.
Delegation is a core skill defining the difference. The truth is, if you are unable to delegate, you are really just an employee with a raise in pay – you are not a manager.
However, that doesn’t mean that inasmuch as delegation is at the heart of mangerial work, that managers generally do it well – even at the highest executive levels. But most can learn to do it better, and without the world-shattering fear that many of them really do feel when they take the leap.
How? First of all recognize that the time it takes to properly explain the tasking is not poorly used or wasted – it’s an investment, and it will pay off according to how intelligently and thoughtfully you make it. Take the time: pick the right person, the right tasking, and assemble the right resources for that task/person.
But then (as you should with your investments, also, by the way) make sure you pick the right times to check back in and supervise. Delegation doesn’t mean simply throwing problems away on to other peoples’ shoulders – it means using your staff to leverage your knowledge, training, and expertise.
You want to make sure you step back in frequently enough to catch any errors before they become problems (and to reinforce proper work so that it becomes established and you develop reliable employees who learn and advance under your management), but not so frequently that you are really just interfering (or even trying to stealthily do the work yourself).
Delegation isn’t the dumping of tasks. It is managerial-level work – ongoing work – to more effectively get more of them done.
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