Delegating Responsibility

In the world of business, there are many tasks and a single person alone cannot do roles that need to be filled and all. The responsibilities that leaders and their subordinates have can range from one to one hundred and the importance of these tasks should always be taken seriously. By delegating responsibilities throughout a team of people, tasks get taken care of and the business is run, in a perfect world, smoothly. Delegation is a skill of which we have all heard - but which few understand. It can be used either as an excuse for dumping failure onto the shoulders of subordinates, or as a dynamic tool for motivating and training your team to realize their full potential (Blair). The following paragraphs I will discuss delegation and how it affects the leader, subordinate and the business as whole as well as the skills that are needed to do so.

By definition, delegating is the assignment of tasks and responsibilities (McGraw, 2004). It is apparent that in a business, as well as anything else that are team oriented, dividing up responsibilities is not only important but also necessary for a positive outcome. A manager that recognizes this can use the tool of delegation to his or her advantage. At PureFitness our Office Manager has to take care of many tasks that are not only time consuming but is detail oriented as well. On top of data input, accounting, and acting as a go between to the other PureFitness clubs, she is responsible for answering the phones and taking care of potential members walking in. This can make her job difficult because she must start and stop, just to do something that others can do. By delegating these extra tasks she is responsible for, she is able to complete her office work in less time without any interruptions. She does this by assigning two of the four-team members the task of answering the phone and taking care of people walking in. This is just one example of how delegating benefits the leader as well as the company.

Mentioned in the above paragraph was an example of how delegation was used in terms of working within the limitations of a small staff and also using people in different departments to help in the over all plan. Delegating involves working with an employee to establish goals, granting them sufficient authority and responsibility to achieve the goals (McNarma, 1997).