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Running a business demands a varied set of important skills and the experience to make the most of these skills. The overall progress of your company depends on your ability to make sound decisions that will grow your business in the long-term by taking prudent and diligent steps in the short-term. One key to managing the success of your company lies in your ability to fill a wide array of roles that are essential to handling each aspect of your business at a level that yields progress. As your company grows and reaches further into the areas that will be instrumental in long-term growth, you will need allies within your company to help manage the expanding workload.
Delegating authority is a critical step every leader must assume in order to ensure all areas of your company’s pursuits are managed effectively and monitored consistently. No one person can do it all, and as such, delegating authority allows a growing business to meet the rigors of increasingly diverse avenues of business while not over-extending talent. Delegating authority is also an important ingredient in drawing out the best and most creative attributes of your managers. Once you have amassed a team of managers that are qualified to help you lead the way toward your company’s goals, delegating greater amounts of authority will enable you to use the combined talents of your managing staff toward a dynamic new direction for your company.
Delegating authority does not mean delegating responsibility. As a leader, you assume the responsibility for the direction of your company regardless of the authority you pass on to others. This key distinction should remind the responsible business leader that while delegating can free you for other areas of the business that demand your attention, you will ultimately be held to accountable for the prosperity or struggles that result from the decisions of your managers.
In order to empower your managing staff for future success, consider these important points of focus:
In order to empower your managing staff for future success, consider these important points of focus:
Choose Wisely
Before establishing a delegated authority, be sure to choose the manager that is best suited to assume the task at hand. Your search should include weighing the skills and education of the manager in question and his previous pattern of success within the company. A manager tabbed for an expanded role should have a wake of success and a demonstrated aptitude for the areas contained within the newly assigned role.
There may arise a circumstance where you will be enticed to delegate authority to a manager as a means of testing her mettle. In these cases, oftentimes the manager’s profile within the company may be borderline in terms of qualifications for the beefed-up responsibility. Taking a risk on a green manager may appear to be a risk to avoid; however, there are occasions when throwing a less-experienced manager into the fire will bring out the best in the manager and in turn, your company. Use your judgment to determine which candidates are more likely to thrive under the weight of the increased spotlight and which are more likely to crumble.
Establish the Authority
Delegating authority requires that you formally inform the manager of her duties and the results you expect. Be sure to define the goals of the project and the benchmarks that will signal progress. Describing the ways in which you will be monitoring progress will allow the manager to plan ahead to make sure he is meeting your objectives as well as reduce the stress of micromanaging; a vital syndrome to be avoided.
Establishing authority also includes communicating to others within the company that you have passed on the duties to the manager who gained your trust. Letting employees know that you have entrusted certain duties to a specific manager will not only embolden the manager but lessen the conflicts that may arise once she begins to wield her authority to accomplish the task.
Monitor Progress
As previously mentioned, micromanaging is an issue that hinders both a company leader and manager’s relationship and stunts the progress of the company itself. To avoid falling into a trap of micromanaging, set a solidly defined structure for monitoring so that the manager knows when and how they will be supervised. By laying out the goals and how you plan to chart progress, the manager will be free to arrange his own plan for tackling the duties of his new role. Without definition, the manager is likely to feel contained by the unknown and not deliver his best work.
Delegating authority properly will free your schedule and allow you to pursue other avenues of expanding your business while at the same time allowing managers to grow and serve an even more impactful part of your growing company.