Effective Delegation Practices

One of the most important skills that every successful leader has to develop is delegation. The effective delegation practice can free the leader, so he or she can be focused on the highly important projects. Moreover, it is a great tool to help other employees to develop the new skill and to improve their abilities that would be very helpful in the creation of effective organization. Hence, this paper is focused on the importance of the delegation practice for the development of the high performing team.

Delegation means the authority transfer to complete specific tasks and make decisions. The implementation of delegation process is one of the most critical skills for leaders and managers because due to the delegation practice, it is possible to train and motivate people, to save time and to meet new opportunities. Delegation is also a great tool for the people development and a good chance for the managers to free their time and take new responsibilities (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). In organizations, the delegating practice is the first step that is made to gain the success. Such tool provides employees with the chance to learn new responsibilities and managers with the higher positions. Moreover, the effective delegation is highly important in the high-quality leaders’ development, because during the delegation process, leaders and managers can train, coach and develop the highly competent and professional workers. Delegation can be divided into three types, such as temporary assignment of all responsibilities, assignment of ongoing responsibilities and specific projects and task assignment. In general, the effective delegation practice helps to develop the capabilities and skills of other people and to increase the work group contribution, to free managers’ time and to focus on other more important things, to provide the space for the new ideas that could be generated, because of the other people’s involvement. The effective delegation is also a great way to improve the organization’s reputation that includes the great professional team involvement that is ready to work effectively.

There are several delegation principles, and one of them is the delegation of the expected results principle. The degree of the authority delegated to the individual manager must be in accordance with his or her ability to provide the needed results that are expected to be received. Without such authority level, the employees will not be able to finish the given task, while others with whom they need to interact will slow down their progress because of the lack of the real authority. The critical part of the delegation process is to communicate the authority with the all involved parties. The next principle is called the responsibilities absoluteness. It is critical to notice that the effective delegation process cannot be used as a way to avoid the responsibilities and tasks ownership. The responsibilities for the subordinates’ activities always will be on the person, who delegated the tasks. Hence, according to this principle, the manager on each level is responsible for the employees who are dealing with the delegated tasks and powers, and he or she would be responsible for such actions until the task completion. Another principle is called the responsibility and authority parity. It means that the authority degree that is delegated in accordance with the task must refer to the responsibility level and the subordinate role. The main point is that the manager has to provide the balance between the responsibility and authority and, at the same time, they have to go hand in hand. Due to this principle, if the person was given the responsibility to perform some task, at the same time, this person has to be provided with enough independence and power to perform the task as effectively as possible. However, such principle does not give the employees to whom the task was delegated the excessive authority. The next principle is called the authority level. According to it, the manager has to exercise his/her authority within the given framework or jurisdiction (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). The manager has to consult the superiors concerning the issues on which the authority is not given, and it means that before the managers make some decisions, they must be confident that they have an authority to do that. Hence, this principle is placing an emphasis on the authority degree and the level, according to which it has to be maintained.

There are several different organizational authority types. One of them is the line authority and according to it, the employees are directed to serve the united object to fulfill the organization’s purpose. This most fundamental organizational authority type reflects the superior and subordinate relationships. It includes the right to take a decision and to give orders that concern the finance, sales, production and other important areas that are in the relation to the subordinates’ behavior. The line authority is focused on dealing with issues due to the direct management system involvement. People who are directly responsible for the major areas in the organization are delegated line authority to help in the obligatory activity performance. The next type is the staff authority, and it consists of the right to assist or advise people, who possess the line authority just as the other personnel (Judge & Heneman, 2006).  It enables people, who are responsible for the improvement of the line personnel effectiveness to perform the needed tasks. Line and staff authorities have to work closely to provide the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization. To be sure that these types are working together, the manager has to explain to all employees their missions, objectives and to persuade that the common work will lead to the success. Another type is the functional authority, and it includes the right to give some orders within the organizational segment in which such right is usually nonexistent. Such authority is normally assigned to the individuals to complement the staff or line authority that is already possessed. In general, the functional authority covers some specific tasks and operations for some specific period (Judge & Heneman, 2006). Such authority is given to the individual, who should be able to exercise the control over the organizational members in other areas to fulfil the responsibilities in the own area.

To delegate the authority effectively, it is critical to realize some practical steps that have to be made to reach the needed results. The first step is the right person selection for the needed work. It is crucial to choose the right individual who will be ready to show the required behavior and to perform tasks that were delegated by the manager. The needed conduct can be a shown or expressed in some unexpected situations or circumstances among the team, and the right employee will know how to deal with them effectively and to reduce damages. With such knowledge, it would be possible to choose the right person and to complete the delegated tasks effectively. The next step is the provision of the clear goal. It is the manager’s responsibility to explain clearly to the team what is expected from them to perform effectively. Hence, it is crucial to provide a clear understanding of the delegated tasks and the goals that have to be achieved. In this process, the manager has to be very attentive and to answer all questions to avoid further misunderstandings (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Moreover, such attitude will also provide some confidence among the team members. Another step is to delegate that whole work to the single employee. It is critical for the worker to understand that only he or she responsible to perform the delegated tasks in time and as effectively as possible. Otherwise, the situation will confuse, and the employees will have many difficulties. The next step is to set the realistic deadline. When the manager is delegating some tasks to the employee, he or she has to explain clearly the timeframe and its reasons. By providing a too challenging deadline, it is possible to receive the opposite effect and such attitude, in the end, will lead only to the negative consequences, because that worker will be too nervous about the time, instead of focusing on the performance quality. Another step is the periodic performance reviews. To receive the successful results of the delegated tasks, it is critical to set some points or dates, when the feedback of the progress has to be received from the employee. This will help to be aware of the potential issues or problems that can appear, and in such case, the manager can help in time. After all, the main responsibility would lay on the manager, so it is critical to see the direction of the task’s proceeding through the reviews and to be focused on the possible problems to correct them in time. The last stage is to provide the proper recognition to the employee who finished the task. It is highly important to reward the person, who completed the task successfully (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2004). Such attitude provides this employee with the personal recognition of his or her achievement on the corporate and team levels. In case of the failure, the manager will take the full responsibility, and it is critical to analyze such situation and reasons for this failure. Overall, despite the results, these situations can be a great experience.

The delegation practices can be used effectively in the team setting, because due to the delegation the tasks can be transferred to the people, whose skills are matching more for this work. It means that with the delegation use in the team, everyone can be in his/her place, where they can provide the best results. Such attitude leads not only to the efficiency improvement, but also to the team members’ satisfaction. Moreover, delegation is a great tool for the employees to develop themselves and to improve some skills. The delegation use is a great way to deal with tasks effectively not only for the managers, but also for the workers. The main point is that with such attitude the organization will work like a good mechanism, where everyone knows own responsibilities and tasks, and they do them effectively. Hence, for the team setting, the delegation use is highly important, because it allows not only to do the work effectively but also to develop own skills and abilities.

Overall, the delegation practice has a serious impact on the team setting and its performance level. Due to delegation, the manager can free own time and focus on the more important tasks, while the employees have a chance to improve own skills and to do the work effectively. The use of delegation leads to the efficiency improvement and the work effectiveness increase. Hence, it is critical to use delegation both for the managers and the employees.

Related Free Management Essays