Effective Delegation of Work

Effective managers and leaders know that they can climb greater
heights and achieve remarkable goals only if they delegate work
to the good, able and talented people around them. The logic is
simple – if they are able to rope in more brains and bodies to do
the tasks, they are able to get more things done within the same
time frame. Having these tasks out of the managers' hands will
free up their time and allow them to concentrate on value-added
jobs which befit their status and qualifications. The ability to
delegate work is therefore a vital asset that all good leaders and
managers should have. Other than time management, effective
delegation of work may take the pressure off work stress and
substantially improve the work life.

As we shall discuss, delegation is not about farming out work and
forgetting about it altogether. For the delegation of work to be
effective and to result in win-win situations, there are certain
myths worth clarifying.

Story:

The Wolf and the Shepherd

Effective Delegation of Work



A Wolf had been prowling around a flock of Sheep for a long time,
and the Shepherd watched very anxiously to prevent him from
carrying off a Lamb. But the Wolf did not try to do any harm.
Instead he seemed to be helping the Shepherd take care of the
Sheep. At last the Shepherd got so used to seeing the Wolf about
that he forgot how wicked he could be.

One day he even went so far as to leave his flock in the Wolf's care
while he went on an errand. But when he came back and saw how
many of the flock had been killed and carried off, he knew how
foolish to trust a Wolf as he exclaimed. “I have been rightly
served; why did I trust my sheep to a Wolf?”

Moral:

Delegate your task wisely, and only to people you trust.