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The Real Cost of Not Delegating
Stepping up into a management role after being in a technical role where you ploughed through volumes of work can be a massive challenge.
It’s a completely different role and one that most professional exams don’t prepare you for.
Read any of the many books on management and one thing that you will come across in just about all of them is that you must delegate.
After all a big part of being a manager is delivering results through others.
Conceptually just about every manager understands this.
Of course understanding conceptually and actually doing it is very different.
Managers often say things like
“I don’t have time to delegate”
“I could do it quicker myself”
“I could do it better”
“It doesn’t really take me that long”
And all of the statements above might well be true and valid.
Here’s an alternative way of looking at it.
Teaching someone else to do something is a one time investment of investment of time and frees up time going forward.
You may in the short term be able to do it quicker. Yet what I’ve noticed is that when someone looks at something we fresh eyes, they often come up with a smarter way of doing it.
Some other things you need to appreciate:
1. If you don’t delegate you will become overloaded with work
2. When overloaded your performance will dip.
3. When your performance dips your boss and those you manage lose confidence in you.
4. You increase the chances of burning out and suffering from stress.
5. You become the block rather than a facilitator of results.
6. Ultimately you fail.
So what do you need to change to become more effective and comfortable at delegating?
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.