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How to know what responsibilities to delegate


Introduction

Delegating responsibilities is difficult for even the skilled business person.Delegating responsibilities is a matter of evaluating the abilities and trustworthiness of your employees on and individual basis.Therefore, as a manager you must be constantly evaluating the progress and improved performance of your employees to be able to delegate to them responsibilities that reflect their progress and position with the company.As a manger your responsibility is to get a job done.If your delegation ends in failure, you are ultimately the one who is responsible.With so much riding on what you delegate to whom, it is no wonder why some managers simply avoid delegating entirely.


Tips for delegating responsibilities:

Know the abilities of your employees

In order to most effectively delegate responsibilities to your employees, you must first understand the abilities of those you work with.Delegating a task to an under qualified employee only frustrates them and disappoints you.This is not to say that you should only delegate to those who have expertise in the area of delegation, only that it is possible for your employee to accomplish the task that you have delegated to them in the time that is allotted.It can be extremely beneficial to delegate responsibilities that may challenge and push your employees to do that which they may not believe they are capable of doing.However, it is important to only give such challenges to individuals who have shown that they are willing to try their best no matter the task.This is why employee attitude and abilities when delegating often go hand in hand.

Compare trust levels to importance of the responsibility

An employee's attitude is something that is highly debatable as one employee may be very hard working and dependable, yet have some personality traits that for one reason or another simply rub you the wrong way.Trust, however, is a personality trait that most people have an easier time quantifying.Trust is often measured based on past performance and experience.As you begin delegating you will be able to see who on your team is able to handle delegation best or most consistently. This is usually how managers determine which employees are trusted enough to be given the more important assignments.

Have a back-up plan

A good manager is always able to accomplish a task even if his team members are unable to follow through with their delegated responsibilities.Although some would argue that it is a waste of resources to plan for your employees to disappoint you, others might say that it is better to plan for a problem and not have any problems than it is to neglect to create a back-up plan and have the need for one.Be methodical in the decisions that you make regarding who is delegated which responsibilities and at the back of your mind have a plan for what it is that you will do if those delegated responsibilities are not met.Such back-up plans can be as simple as giving yourself ample time to evaluate the work of your employees before the deadline of the project.This way there is time to make changes, give direction and give employees second chances to do the job in a way that they will be pleased with.Damage control possibilities are not meant to bring down the morale of your team so make sure that whatever method you choose for guaranteeing the success of your team is subtle and well thought out.

Other tips to consider

Knowing what responsibilities to delegate is especially difficult for the perfectionist and workaholic who believes he can do everything better on his own.Sometimes the first leap of faith is harder than anything else.Make sure that you do not become a victim of your own arrogance.You may be surprised at what your employees are able to accomplish with their delegated responsibilities.

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