[5] There are a number of factors that facilitate effective delegation by managers, including "Recognising and respecting others’ capabilities; evaluating tasks and communicating how they fit in the big picture; matching people and assignments; providing support and encouragement; tolerating ambiguity and uncertainty; interpreting failure as a key to learning".
[5] With organisations being such complex and dynamic entities, the success of objectives relies heavily on how effectively tasks and responsibilities can be delegated.
[6] According to Dr. Kanthi Wijesinghe, Senior Lecturer at the National Institute of Education, "Delegation begins when the manager passes on some of their responsibilities to a subordinate.
"[7] Delegation is strongly dependent on a supervisor's ability to communicate, motivate, and understand individual preferences and differences.
This means that delegation involves a process of sharing, which may include "authority, power, influence, information, knowledge, or risk".
[7] This means that goals, standards of performance and targets need to be clearly outlined to direct the actions of the subordinate to completion of the task.
Delegation is one of the best-known methods for efficiently managing time and leads to numerous benefits within an organisation.
[5] It eases the challenges relating to management’ workload, increasing responsiveness and growing and developing the capabilities of employees.
[4] Through delegation, lower level employees are able to embrace the opportunity to gain experience, build on capabilities and develop skills, which improves the organisation.
[4] Delegation is positively related to organisational commitment, task performance, innovative behavior and job satisfaction.
Ineffective use of delegation includes allowing no real influence or granting too much authority to someone who is unwilling or unable to make appropriate decisions.
[4] Some supervisors find it challenging to delegate tasks for the fear of becoming out of touch with the required skills or giving up something they truly enjoy.
[4] Managers are often reluctant to delegate due to concerns that mistakes will be made, or that the job will not be completed to the standard which they believe they could achieve.