Bullet Proof Leaders aren't afraid to delegate

By Julius Bosire

Many companies are training their employees to become bullet proof managers.

The training is designed to enhance the management and leadership skills of executives, managers and supervisors.

One of the strong points of bullet proof manager is effective delegation of duties. This involves a manager entrusting responsibility, authority, and accountability to her juniors and remaining optimistic that the task will be performed well.

Delegating duties often creates an enviroment for accountability among junior and senior employees. The result attained are jointly owned by those whose responsibility it was to pursue the company's goals.

There are various issues that may inhibit successful delagation of duties. The three main factors are the manager herself, her subordinates, and the environment or organisational structure. Some managers would rather hold on to all assignments as they fear losing authority. Such managers want to be recognised as the source of wisdom in the running of the organisations. They do not mentor their juniors. Yet other managers do not delegate duties because of fear that their subordinates will not do the job well.

Other think that by delegating authority, they may be perceived as weak.

Managers who are insecure in their jobs or believe that certain activities are important to their personal success, are unlikely to delegate. In some cases, subordinates decline to take extra responsibility for fear of failure. Some decline to to take up new responsibilities due to to lack of self-confidence, or a feeling that their managers have no confidence in them.

When this happens, and they are forced to take up the assignments, they become resentful, hence producing poor results.

Some employees are not willing to take up new assignments because their managers do not give them the required power and authority. They feel that their managers want to make them fail.

Managers who do not delegate duties are likely to burn out, leading to lack of creativity, and innovation. Also, they lack groomed successors when they eventually leave office. It is such organisations that ''poach'' managers from other companies.

On the other hand, staff who fear failure usually remain in the same position for long periods, grumbling that the company does not promote its own.

An organisation with a condensed structure, with few jobs and little authority delegated, may end up frustrating ambitious employees. However, employees are initially reluctant to take up delegated roles.

Proper delegation involves assigning specific duties to people and clearly explaining to them what is required. A manager must then relinguish some authority to the selected person.

Some managers understand very well that certain duties cannot be performed without authority but go ahead to merely delegate. This is wrong.

Kenya Wildlife Service director Julius Kipng'etich says the manager concerned should give the employee certain power to deliver results. "The manager should give a very strong strategy and environment,'' Mr Kipng'etich says.

He should explain the organisation's goal, empower his subordinates and make them understand that they will be held responsible individually for their performance. The overall responsibility, however, lies with the manager.

Mr Kipng'etich adds that a manager should build an enviroment conducive to performance of new tasks,since learning is a process. He discounts fears felt by some managers that some subordinates cannot perform certain tasks.

Managers need to cultivate a culture of trust, They should empower their employees and let them learn new tasks on the job. Subordinates, on the other hand, should accomplish the assignments delegated to them.

Patricia King'ori, the general manager of Global System for Mobile Communications, East and Central Africa division, says a manager should think strategically and have the global picture of the business in mind.

Getting involved in small jobs will deprive the manager of the time and space to guide his or her team.

''One is likely to overwhelm herself or himself and develop medical complications if one doesn't delegate some roles.

"As long as a manager is able to guide others and monitor the progress, she or he should succeed in achieving the desired results,'' she says.

Mr Kipng'etich and Ms King'ori agree that fear of being outshone by juniors is the main reason some managers fail to delegate duties.

Both say that delegation without supervision likely to yield low returins. Bullet proof management emphasises involvement, participation and team work.

With these, managers should be able to insulate themselves from potential bullets at the workplace.

Source: The EastAfrican