Delegation

Related Terms: Span of Control

Delegation is the practice of turning over work-related tasks and/or authority to employees or subordinates. Small business owners often have difficulty with delegation for a variety of reasons, from concerns about the abilities of subordinates to long-standing "hands-on" management habits (a common characteristic of successful entrepreneurs). Indeed, "businesses founded on the creative talents of the owner often struggle with [delegation] because the success of the enterprise depends on the owner's style," wrote Linda Formichelli in Nation's Business. But small business consultants warn that owners who do not learn to delegate responsibilities and tasks often end up stunting their company's growth.

The Need for Effective Delegation Practices

"Many managers think of delegation as a task—an activity to be carried out and forgotten. In reality, delegation is a process that makes up a critical component of successful management," wrote Janet Houser Carter in Supervisory Management. "To get work done with and through others, a manager must regularly give authority to his or her staffers. This shows staffers that the manager has faith in their abilities—which is what makes delegation such a powerful motivational tool."

A propensity for micromanagement—or nanomanagement, as it is sometimes called when applied to a small business firm—can have a deleterious impact on a company in a variety of ways. Moreover, many analysts contend that a lack of delegation can be particularly detrimental to the fortunes of smaller businesses. "In small, entrepreneurial companies, micromanagement by one person—typically the owner—can be especially growth-inhibiting because it can have a proportionately larger sweep through the firm than micro-management by one executive in a large company," wrote Formichelli. Business consultants thus counsel their clients to practice sensible delegation of tasks to their employees—even in instances where they might not do as good a job initially. "Employees can't learn unfamiliar tasks if they never get the chance to learn and practice them," noted Carter. "In the short term, it may make sense to do it yourself; over the long term, however, you save more time by showing others how to do the job."

Of course, not all tasks or responsibilities should be delegated to employees. Small business owners need to take care of basic strategic and planning issues themselves, and other management duties—conflict resolution, performance evaluations, etc.—should be delegated judiciously.

Business experts cite a number of specific problems that are often associated with companies that do not effectively delegate. These include:

• Poor employee morale—An inability or refusal to delegate can have a corrosive impact on the morale of good employees that want to contribute their talents to the business in a meaningful way. "Delegating work to subordinates helps to develop them for their own career advancement as well as improve their management skills," wrote W.H. Weiss in Supervision.
• Burnout—Even the most talented, ambitious, and energetic entrepreneurs are apt to run out of gas if they insist on tackling all major aspects of a company's operation. Some small business owners can manage all or most important tasks for the early life of a company. Indeed, some small businesses—especially single-person enterprises like freelance graphics design or editorial services—may be able to handle all significant aspects of a company's operation for years on end. But for the vast majority of small and mid-sized businesses enjoying a measure of growth, owners sooner or later must face the reality that they cannot undertake all duties and responsibilities.
• Misallocation of Personal Resources—Small business owners and entrepreneurs who do not delegate often run the risk of using too much of their time on routine tasks and not enough time on vital aspects of the company's future, such as strategic planning, long-range budgeting, and marketing campaigns.
• Damage to Company Image—Business owners who do not empower their employees, insisting instead on attending to all relevant aspects of his or her business themselves, run the risk of inadvertently suggesting to customers and vendors that the company's workforce is not competent and/or trustworthy.
• Damage to Company Health—This should be the bottom-line consideration of all entrepreneurs running their own business. If micromanagement is slowing processing of work orders, hindering development of new marketing efforts, or otherwise causing bottlenecks in any areas of a company's operation, then it may be eating away at the company's fundamental financial well-being.

Small business owners are encouraged to evaluate whether they are perhaps falling into the trap of micro-management. Consultants and entrepreneurs cite the following as major warning signs:

• Taking work home in the evening or working long hours of overtime
• Failure to give important tasks the amount of attention that they warrant
• Basic company documents (like business plans) are not updated for long periods
• Excessive amounts of time spent going over work already completed by employees
• Completing important tasks with little time to spare (or a day or two late)

• Spending inordinate amounts of time on relatively unimportant or routine jobs
• Vacations assume mythic status
• Unhappy employees
• Unhappy family members

Keys to Effective Delegation

Effective delegation is ultimately predicated on ensuring that the company's workforce is sufficiently talented and motivated to take on the responsibilities that are delegated to them. "New entrepreneurs often have difficulty figuring out what kind of workers to hire," remarked Formichelli. "If the wrong people are hired, they require more training and supervision, which invites nanomanagement." Sound hiring practices and adequate training are thus universally regarded as major factors in establishing a healthy system of delegation. Once those aspects have been addressed, there are other considerations that can be studied as well. These include:

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