Delegation 101

A very common practice in both small scale and enterprise business but how it’s practiced …There are two different types of delegating which are both negative. Both can inhibit productivity, rather than increase it. If you recognize either of these factors in your work life, you can begin changing them for better results.

The first negative form of delegating involves the person who wants to do everything by himself. While this may sound positive at first, it actually is not positive at all. The person who insists on taking on more work than he can reasonably do, or work he is not fully capable of performing on his own, not only makes himself less productive but also affects the productivity of everyone who is counting on him to do the job. Whether he is afraid to ask for help, or whether he is simply boastful, it can slow everyone else down as well as himself.

The second negative form of delegating involves the person who shirks his own responsibilities. He may ask others to do tasks which he really should be doing himself. Not only is he not carrying his own weight, he is taking up other people’s valuable time.

Positive delegating is sensible. When you acknowledge that you cannot do everything, and that you cannot do everything equally well, you are boosting your own productivity in addition to the productivity of those around you.

When you have a very large or very tough assignment or project, asking others for assistance will help in getting the job done, and getting it done quicker. Instead of looking at delegating as an admission of weakness or incompetence, you are acknowledging the scope of your own role and your own capabilities. This, in turn, will give others the opportunity to pitch in and help to get the job done.

Delegating for the sake of doing less than you can do, or less than you should reasonably be expected to do, is always negative. However, when you are up against more work than you can reasonably do on your own, or work which you are not capable of completing on your own, delegating is the sensible solution. When a job needs to be done, and on time, and well, teamwork will give the best results.