At some point, managers are faced with the need to delegate authority or decision-making powers to subordinates within an organization. Delegation refers to entrusting lower-level employees with the responsibility to perform tasks. Delegation is an antonym for micromanagement whereby the manager has complete authority and monitors employees in their chain of command, exercising scrutiny. No decision-making authority is ever passed down to subordinates in any way in this type of management.
For instance, in business accounting, bookkeeping is an intricate process that requires an eye for detail to ensure that no information is left uncatered for and there is a minimum to zero chance of error. The tedious nature of the task calls for the need to delegate decision-making as the manager alone cannot look into each process manually. In addition to the wastage of time, this task is subject to changing regulations in the accounting framework. Hence, employees closer to the action tend to be more informed regarding any changes to the accounting and bookkeeping policies and framework and can incorporate these wherever and whenever required.
Delegation requires passing down decision-making powers. This must be done effectively, considering the amount of responsibility that comes with it. If you are trying to delegate decision-making more effectively and seamlessly, use the checklist below.
Choose Wisely
Based on the nature of the task being delegated, ensure that the person chosen is the right one. This will require assessing their various skills and capabilities for the task. When selecting a person from a group, ensure the one with the best skills is handpicked and given additional responsibilities. Spend sufficient time analyzing and evaluating different employees, and choose your decision-making team wisely.
Communicate Goals and Expectations
The next step is communicating work goals and their various requirements to the selected individual. It is essential to ensure that the budget, context, time duration, and other necessary information are communicated to the employee so they can carry out the decision-making process most efficiently.
In addition to this, when you delegate decision-making to subordinates, it is understood that your expectations for them are also laid out. The employee must fulfill these expectations, and they must direct their goals towards meeting these expectations.
Confirm Understanding
To smoothly delegate decision-making, once the relevant and necessary information has been passed onto the employee, make sure to inquire from the person whether they understand entirely or not. Without such assurance, the employee could end up incorrectly using the authority. To avoid a situation such as this, a set of questions regarding the assigned task or process must be asked of the employee to check their understanding of everything that was conveyed to them. If there are any further clarifications or explanations needed, these must be delivered at this stage of the process to avoid potential mistakes at a later stage.
Ensure Accountability
Whenever managers delegate decision-making to their subordinates, an essential step that they tend to miss out on is the assurance of accountability that falls onto the subordinate. This can be accomplished by keeping the communication lines open on both sides. This ensures that the employee reports to the manager regarding essential deadlines and the status of the assigned tasks.
Delegation requires the selected individual to take full responsibility for the assigned decision-making power. A lack of accountability may work for employees under the micromanagement umbrella, but this becomes detrimental for those delegated with authority and could impact their performance.
Continue to Monitor
Lastly, to delegate decision-making seamlessly, constant monitoring is symbolic of effective delegation and the carrying out the delegated tasks. This monitoring differs from micromanagement as it calls for assessing the work metrics once the work is finished or whenever necessary. The employee should not be constantly bothered during the mission, but an informal discussion to get an update on the status of the work proves helpful.
Conclusion
With these five steps, managers can smoothly delegate decision-making powers to subordinates without regretting their decisions later. A little caution is always better at the initial stage of any process.
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