Delegation Skills In Professional Life

delegation concept, ceo delegating tasks to employees of the company

Several centuries have passed since the delegation of authority was first spoken of , although everyone believes they know the concept, the reality is that many do not know how to delegate and others do not even dare to do so, despite the positive influence that it can have on the personal productivity of the delegates and the organization. Delegation is a very important skill for efficient administrative management, this being even more true as it is promoted in the hierarchical scale of an organization.

Definition of delegation of authority:

Delegating means assigning to a subordinate, the formal authority and responsibility to carry out specific activities, maintaining to a certain degree the supervision of the said activity.

Why is it so important to delegation skills in professional life?

Among the most important benefits derived from the delegation of authority in an appropriate way can be mentioned:

Managers or team leaders can spend their time executing more strategic tasks aimed at business development and delegating operational tasks to other employees, even if they think they can do better.

Delegating tasks that require special skills that you do not have or in which you do not highlight people who do have them, is a sure way to increase the productivity of the company. This is the specialization associated with operational efficiency.

It is also a great mechanism to professionally develop the members of a team because when a boss delegates to a subordinate, the most likely is to increase their motivation and if the work is done well, this can be evolved within the organization.


Furthermore, a leader who delegates tasks is an intelligent manager. Corporations have come to see that one of the greatest skills of leadership professionals is to know how to distribute tasks among subordinates for the benefit of the team and the corporation. Being a leader does not mean that you will know how to do all the activities better than the group members. Delegating gives confidence to the team, responsibility, knowledge, and evolution to subordinates.

Initially, the leader needs basic skills such as knowing how to deal with people, knowing how to convey their opinion, interacting and listening to the team. In order to be able to delegate tasks, you need a good knowledge about the subordinates, that is, know what he expects of the person to whom he will delegate this task. There must also be full knowledge of the principles of the company, mission, and values, so that this can be put into practice. It is no use taking these values to the team if the leader himself does not practice this company culture.

It is paramount that the leader relies on the person who has been given the task and that the employee has the will and responsibility to take over the role. Sometimes the person is given a task, but he does not have the slightest desire to do it. That is, this employee will comply bureaucratically, without any motivation on what was imposed. If a leader starts to lose his quality of life, it’s time to start thinking about delegating roles. Analyzing from the point of view of the team collaborator, the leader must delegate functions when the subordinate begins to be creative, begins to perform to be helpful and show interest in new projects. It is to identify that collaborator who wants to grow with the team and evolve professionally.

Some leaders do not delegate duties for fear of professional immaturity and fear that their subordinate stands out from the organization. But delegating tasks is often a matter of intelligence, and indicating someone who does better or faster than the leader himself is a skill of the modern manager. Often the leader, because he is in the role of manager, may believe that he has all the necessary skills for the job, but often someone on the team has a greater talent and facility to solve some activities. For more efficiency, the leader has to know how to recognize what he is good at and what the team is good at. In this way,  the team has an effective subdivision of tasks.

Delegating functions can be confused with a disclaimer. But, in fact, it means focusing on actions in other activities. The leader must delegate to focus on new projects and to develop the potential of subordinates. If the manager does not know how to keep track of the progress of the team, he will not be able to report to his superiors either. By the time the leader chooses his team, he must recognize those employees who have the skills and talents necessary to perform common tasks and those who can take on more responsible tasks.

The leader who has the consciousness that he alone is not able to do the work, creates a team that can add skills to minimize the deficiencies of himself and the rest of the team and multiply the benefits for the corporation. The leader who identifies someone with the ideal profile on his or her team should reflect if it is the time when he could delegate some role to this subordinate since he is committed to the projects and goals, or a creative, dynamic and reliable person.

Delegating is not mandating:

The force of power, for the most part, betrays some sign of fragility among the leaders.  Authoritarianism is a clear symptom of incompetence. As the boss is incompetent, he becomes authoritarian, which is to inhibit, threaten and frighten his subordinates, who in fear, are afraid to challenge the power of the boss.

The first step to being firm, energetic and achieving better results with the team is to keep an eye-to-eye feedback, getting in tune with the team members, welcoming, guiding and giving them tips in new tasks.

The leader becomes commander of a team because he is able to gather an effective group around himself. This team needs to admire the leader and feel it as a motivating factor.

In conclusion, a boss who does not delegate is an insecure boss. On the other hand, a boss who delegates functions is an intelligent professional with great vision and indeed a true leader as highlighted above.

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