There are three common mistakes that most people make when they must delegate, especially in SMEs where roles and functions are not as clearly defined as in large companies.

1.     Resort to direct action instead of strategic action

We usually think that it is better, and faster, to do things ourselves than to ask someone else to do them. We are convinced that he/she is not going to do them like us and therefore we almost gave up delegation before starting.

Let us say, if I can do everything, then, you, by default will have little room to do something. Let us imagine for a moment that you have been appointed head of Human Resources, for example. One of your main responsibilities is that people do what they have been assigned to do. It may happen that the person does not do or finish the task, and that we, as Head of the Human Resources Department, decide to do it ourselves. In this case, in addition to using part of our time for tasks that someone else must do, what we are doing is helping to build our own discredit as managers. The rest of the team could easily say, ¨Leave it, do not do it, he/she comes at the last moment and does it for you!¨

One feasible way to try to solve this problem is to review tasks, responsibilities, roles, and functions and bring back to the table a key concept: career growth is built on prestige, which is based on a job properly done.

By trying to fill all the spaces, what we are doing is covering up our own career growth and that of the others, while we remain trapped in the flaws of our previous role or function.

Delegation is a valuable tool for career growth.

2.     To avoid being cruel, we fail to get our message across

The stress we experience by having to talk about topics or situations that seem unpleasant to us, or we do not know how to deal with, means that we end up being evasive instead of clear and precise. Far from contributing to the solution of the original problem, what we achieve is greater uncertainty and a higher level of stress.

When giving a message, it is important to put in in black and white and make it clear that you are talking about a task and it should not, therefore, hurt anyone’s susceptibility.

It may be of some help to remind ourselves that individual responsibility is the hardest nut to crack, and that we all, to some extent, try to avoid what is difficult, heavy, or that we simply do not know how to do.

If we need to address difficult issues at work, such as unfulfilled tasks or mistakes, it is crucial to put ourselves in the other’s place and try to understand why that task has not been done. This is the moment to elaborate hypotheses: a) Does he/she find it difficult to accept individual responsibility, b) Is he/she more interested in exercising power than doing his task? c) Is there anything he/she needs to learn? Does he/she needs training?

In all cases, it seems essential to learn to generate and use emotional and cognitive resources. Today, in a post-pandemic era, learning to communicate a task or correct an error, or any other form of communication, requires a comprehensive understanding of the emotions and cognitive skills that are at stake.

Open communication enables the generation of emotion and cognitive resources.

3.     Turning deaf ears to delegation alarms

We do not claim that it is easy to delegate, we just try to show that it is possible and that it is important to detect the time. Regardless of its internal complexity, that is, that each company, or business area may need an external advisor to help in the delegation processes, we detail below a couple of phrases that alert us that the time to delegate has come.

This need to be done

When someone says ¨This need to be done¨ it means that nobody oversees that task, and it also suggests that is high time to implement a delegation scheme.

I will do it later

If we simply say, «I will do it later» we must assume then that we all understand the same by the term «later». We take it for granted that that we are all talking about the same thing and the same perception of time. That is a serious mistake because time is relative and so is the perception of time. Therefore, when someone says later, the question that follows is when, what day and what time. Someone who cannot delegate and overload himself-herself with work usually has scheduling problems and therefore avoids setting a precise date because they unconsciously know that there is no more room in their schedule.

¿Why is it crucial to learn to delegate is SMEs?

Because by releasing out tasks we enable personal and career growth, but for this to happen we must learn to replace body action by strategic action.

Because delegation processes promote the generation of emotional and cognitive resources, which turn out to be fundamental resources in every job, and this requires clear and assertive communication

Because with a little less hustle and bustle, we can clearly see the tasks that ‘need to be done ask’ just in time.

Asesoría

En VG & Asociados acompañamos a las empresas y sus líderes en el desarrollo de sus habilidades de liderazgo y habilidades blandas en general desde el enfoque del Aprendizaje Organizacional. Nuestra propuesta busca potenciar las capacidades subyacentes de las personas en proceso de capacitación, invitándoles a ser parte activa del proceso.