What is delegation?

Delegation is appointing someone else to act on your behalf. Acting on your behalf means that you are assigning the authority and responsibility to another person to carry out certain tasks or activities that you usually do.

Effective delegation is the most powerful activity in management because it enables you to direct your focus and energy to those activities that are the responsibility of the manager/leader and only you can do.

Delegation requires trust in the people you are delegating to, and trust is the highest form of human motivation. Sure, this involves more time than doing the task yourself, at least initially, but this is time well invested because you are investing not only in the growth and development of an employee but also in the firm and in yourself.

When should you consider delegating? The short answer is always if you want to grow the company and yourself, but particularly when the following is evident: