How to Use Delegation in Your Small Business

One of the most important skills a small business CEO or other senior manager must master is delegation. The reason is very simple. He cannot do it all himself. Unfortunately delegation is not that simple, and mastering it takes commitment and practice.
So what is delegation? Probably the easiest way to answer that question is to demonstrate what it is not. Delegation is not giving instructions and monitoring the result. That is supervision, and it is what most of us do. The reason it is not delegation is that authority is not transferred in the process.
So why is that so different? Well, if you do not delegate authority, then every time something happens which is not covered by your specific instructions, no one has the authority to make a decision, and they must come back to you for further instructions. That is inefficient. It is also aggravating for your people.
A basic principle of organizational management is that enough authority needs to be delegated to a manager to take the actions necessary for accomplishing an objective. It is also necessary for the limits of the authority to be clearly defined. This means that the subordinate to whom you have delegated the task knows not only what they may decide, but also what they may not.
You notice we never mentioned delegation of responsibility. Certainly in the process of delegation we give employees the responsibility of completing tasks, but unfortunately for owners and CEO's, they retain the responsibility. That means it is up to them to ensure that their employee has the training, the resources and the authority to get the job done right. I have found that the managers who truly understand that failures by their subordinates are really their own failures turn out to be the best managers.
Go to my website http://www.trainmetobeaceo.com for more information.