8th February 2024
Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport
2nd October 2024
Hilton London Canary Wharf
Search
Close this search box.
EBR
barnett-waddingham-advert
EBR
barnett-waddingham-advert

Get a handle on delegation: Changing your perspective might yield better outcomes

By Denise Fryer, Co-Programme Director, Developing Management Practice, Henley Business School

The attitude that: ‘It’ll take longer to explain to someone else how to do it, so it’s easier if I just do it myself,’ is not one that is generally productive in today’s collaborative business contexts.

Two of the key aspects you might consider initially are whether you are actually doing your own job effectively, and why delegating is needed in the first place; these points are oddly overlooked in so many cases. But as well as maximising time efficiency, it could be a way of developing the skills of your individual team members and the team as a whole, building morale, and ensuring that the best person is being used for any particular job.

Self-awareness leads to better utilisation of team capabilities

Part of a good delegation process is understanding the capabilities of your team members, but the process often needs to start closer to home, so a part of our programme looks at your own individual styles, and this assessment instils an essential self-awareness that will enable you to be more objective about your strength and weaknesses, and an understanding of where delegation would yield positive benefits.

We also consider the reasons why you tend not to delegate, such as control freakery, lack of resource, or the illusion that you have no time to train people. Of course, you have to have trust and confidence in the capability of all the team members, which means the recruitment or development process that creates those teams has to be sound recruitment or development process that creates those teams has to be sound.’

Clarity and communication are the keys

Clearer planning and better communication will usually help to overcome the panic to get things done quickly but there are occasions when delegation can be counter-productive and we need to recognise those scenarios too.

Expectations have to be clearly defined from the outset, andthey must be realistic. All parties must be clear about what success will look like. Sometimes you may need to define the process, but often, it might be sufficient to define the outcome, and allow the delegate to find a way to achieve it. Either way, everyone also needs to know how and when progress will be reviewed.

Used to best effect, delegation becomes a powerful tool for building performance across a team, and in such a competitive environment, neither you – nor your organisation – can afford to ignore it.

Henley is a triple-accredited Business School and part  of the University of Reading, with campuses, offices and partnerships worldwide.

For more information, please contact:

Henley Business School

Greenlands

Henley-on-Thames Oxfordshire

RG9 3AU

exec@henley.ac.uk

+44 (0) 1491 418767

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *