Benefits of Delegation, Essay Example

Five potential benefits of delegation include increased likelihood of achieving success, increasing the abilities of staff members, increased loyalty among workers, increased motivation and job satisfaction, and an improved strategic thinking ability. As a whole, delegation contributes to the ability of the organization increasing and improving their reputation compared to competitors, helps increase productivity of the team and therefore the company overall, and helps ensure continuity through smoother succession planning (Lewis, n.d.). Ultimately, it is important to understand that the leadership in an organization has the ability to drive its employees towards success. Delegation is an important factor of these efforts.

It is essential to structure delegation in order to ensure that it will be effective. First, leaders must determine what they will delegate to ensure that their efforts remain focused throughout the delegation process. Next, leaders must clarify the results they want to see. Rather than being vague, it is important for the leader to be specific so that members of an organization are aware of the results that their team wants to see. This also provides these individuals with an enhanced understanding of how the work should be done. Furthermore, the employees’ specific responsibilities and authority over the task must be defined. While the employee should be given some power over his or her own work, the limits to this power must be set. In addition, they must be made to understand their role in the overall work that is being produced. To ensure that a project will be successful, it is important for the employee to confirm that he or she is aware of the role that they have been given. As a consequence, communication is important to ensure that the definition of the role is understood. Last, a follow-up schedule and a time limit must be established. It is helpful for the employees to receive the guidance they need while completing the project, but also be aware of the time restrictions in place for each phase of its completion so that they are able to have a finished product ready on time.

One of the major complaints of subordinates regarding delegation is the issue of dumping. Good managers ensure that only people that were intended to work on a project will be involved with the exception of an emergency. When a manager dumps a project on an employee, it demonstrates bad planning or laziness on the behalf of the manager. Furthermore, this increases the workload of an employee, which may not be fair with regards to the amount of work they have already been given. In addition, they may not have the particular skills necessary to complete this project. An example of this in the workplace is when a lawyer needs to review several legal documents but finds that he does not have time to do so. Instead of completing this project himself, he passes off the document review to his assistant, who is already busy with her own activities. Overall, dumping should be avoided because it decreases employee morale. It is important to plan the distribution of projects carefully to prevent against this from happening frequently.

References

Lewis SF. (n.d.). Benefits of Delegation. Retrieved from http://www.sallyfoleylewis.com/benefits-of-delegation/