Before examining the importance of delegation in leadership in depth, it is important to know why most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders consider delegating a good leadership skill and what counts as delegation primarily. The main features of delegation are many, but delegation, in essence, is the process of allocating the right tasks to the right people at the right time. This way, not only do employees and leaders stand to benefit but the organisation does too.
Leadership skills include strategic communication, decision-making, problem-solving, creativity, time management, accountability, and integrity amongst much more. Delegation comes close to the top when leadership skills are talked about. It is because delegation in leadership simplifies and enables the rest of the skills to a great extent.
Also, delegation in leadership cannot be avoided at any cost because a good leader has to spend his/her time and energy more on work rather than in work so as to achieve milestones and set newer ones for the benefit of the organisation.
One of the main features of delegation is that it works from top to bottom at all levels. Hence, how a leader delegates and supervises a task in the most effective and efficient manner possible plays a major role in distinguishing between a good leader and a not-so-good one. So, why is delegation important for a leader, and delegating a good leadership skill? This is why, and due to a lot more.
The act of delegation holds different benefits for different stakeholders. Your organisation as a whole, the one in the leadership role, the one in the subordinate role, and the team as a whole, everyone is likely to benefit once the power of delegation in leadership is harnessed in its entirety.
When we discuss why delegation is important for a leader, various reasons come to the fore. A leader is meant to steer the organisation towards big goals and work in that direction. A leader is important for having a vision and mission and steering the course through which to achieve all of that. He/She is to bring in more work to do rather than doing all the work by himself/herself.
So, when anyone in the leadership role avoids delegating most of the tasks due to one reason or the other, the organisation may begin to stagnate. When all of the leader's energy is put into tasks that could easily have been delegated, the organisation as a whole starts to suffer.
There might be different reasons for avoiding delegation in leadership. It might be that the leader feels that no one else would be able to do a certain task up to his/her expectations. Or also it might be that the leader might feel insecure in providing others with the opportunities to shine sometimes.
No matter the reason, it is important for someone in the leadership role to remember that a task that could be delegated should be delegated, period. A leader should be free as much as possible to devise new ideas and plans for the growth and development of the organisation.
When a leader thoughtfully delegates tasks to different members of his/her team according to their competencies, it provides an opportunity for them to grow and excel at what they are good at and also enhance their skill sets. It might take them time to complete the tasks that the leader would have done in less time, but this is all for the better in the long term.
Empowering the individuals in their respective domains ensures that the organisation gets empowered too. Employees are likely to have more job satisfaction when they receive more and more opportunities to develop themselves at a professional as well as personal level.
Effective delegation is the backbone of any organisation. When there is smooth working between different parts and different levels of an organisation, and everyone gets the opportunity to work to the best of their abilities in their areas of interest and expertise, that makes for an ever-progressing organisational culture. On the other hand, when there is mismanagement in this aspect, the organisation may come to a standstill sooner or later.
Freelancing opportunities add a new factor to the topic under concern. It can help businesses find the most suitable candidate for the task at hand. Not that an organisation should deal only with freelancers if this is so; it is because loyalty is a key ingredient in any organisation's success.
The importance of delegation in leadership is, therefore, vast and there is no denying that it's an important skill for leaders to master.
Like and Share