In a world where delegation has become one of the winning strategies in management for leaders, and one of the core tools that make lazy people succeed more as entrepreneurs, are there really tasks leaders should never delegate? In an attempt to gain more time, enjoy vacations and become more effective, managers and executives tend to achieve more through delegation of duties to subordinates and staff members.
Related: why lazy people succeed more as entrepreneurs
Delegation of task can multiply productivity but knowing what task a leader should delegate and tasks no leader should delegate is the key to increased productivity and setting the business in order. There are 6 important tasks no leader should delegate.
1. Getting the right people:
When you’ve the wrong people on board, delegating tasks to them would kill your business faster. The most challenging part of setting up an organization and team formation is people’s selection. If gotten right, productivity is multiplied and if gotten wrong, productivity diminishes. So why not fully get involved in people’s selection?
A leader recognizes a talent when he sees one but it doesn’t end there. He should be able to evaluate and know what task and job description fits one the most where his natural abilities and expertise align well with. This is a task no leader should delegate, not even to the human resource department. Get involved in the selection process as people are the most important asset of any company. Unfortunately, not the wrong people. The right people are. Recommendation is not enough, résumés shouldn’t do that for you. The task of selection is a tedious one, you might not be there always but monitor the process. When they finally come onboard, make out time to welcome them in person or through a sort of teleconferencing. But let them know and feel the leader recognizes their presence.
2.Team building and talent nurturing:
If you don’t make the commitment to build and nurture your team, they’ll never grow into the new phase of your business. Most companies when it’s time to fill higher positions, instead of promoting from the in house team, they employ completely from the outside when obviously the job wasn’t a new description or new skill set. This happens often when the responsibility to nurture and train your team are left for the team to do themselves.
What’s the need of training teams and when you make them better, they leave to another organization or worse become your competitors? Yea. This is a risk you must embrace and come to terms with. When you give your team your best they will love to give their best. Never delegate this task.
3. Mission, vision and company culture:
This what solely makes you the leader. The man with the vision is the leader. No matter how busy you are or how lazy you want to be, you must set and make the vision clear. Cast the vision before everyone and let everyone come on board to brainstorm on how to get it done. This is your work not the task of a subordinate or a consulting firm. Build the culture and let everyone come to terms with it.
4. Crisis management:
When things go wrong, address the issue yourself. This is what no one should do for you. People want to hear you say it and be timely about it. With the data issue Facebook encountered in 2018, mark understanding this didn’t assign his Chief operating officer sherly sandberg to address the issue. Mark appeared before national councils and appropriate quarters to address the issues.
People want to see the leader not one CFO of COO or driver. You take responsibility. You take the lead. Make the public appearance your thing. Never outsource or delegate it. Don’t leave it for the compliance department.
Related: The task of a CEO.
5. Fundraising and investor relations:
Nobody would handover his money to a third party. Nobody will do the pitch for you. Investors want to see you. Address them and convince them of the vision and how you intend to grow their input and give them result. This is one of the tasks no leader should delegate.
6. Motivation:
The dream is yours, no one understands the vision more than the leader. You must communicate it, motivate them with what it is that motivates them and seems right to your organizational standard. No one would motivate them if you don’t.
