“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.”
Ronald Reagan
An entrepreneurial CEO is responsible for ensuring smooth progress of everything from the marketing to finance, along with creating the end product. For achieving this Herculean task, he has to make choices about delegating the work to a right set of employees.
Since every organization works in a chain, it is vitally important to pick the links with utmost wisdom as a weak or inefficient link will disturb the whole network, leading to chaos and eventually a debacle.
Delegation of responsibilities is not easy. It requires a complete review of the huge talent pool available in the company before the final selection and meticulous selection of the right people for the right task. Having said that, one must also remember the CEO is also liable for an occasional wrong choice.
Hence, the responsibility of delegating work to those who can fulfill the given tasks best becomes critical.
Here are some suggestions for CEOs to help them delegate responsibilities.
1. Choose the right person
The very first step is to choose a deserving person for a particular responsibility. The selection should be unbiased and based on candidate’s skills, attitude, his/her willingness to accept challenges, determination, adaptability, and ability to handle responsibilities. The person should be self motivated, hardworking, and more importantly a team player.
2. Give adequate training and time to the person
You should not assume the person to be self-sufficient while assigning a responsibility. Help them with a road map, complete guidance, blueprints, and adequate time to cross over the period of transition to enter into their new set of duties. They should be aware of their targets and best possible ways to achieve them before starting from scratch on a project or assignment.
3. Show confidence in their abilities
Boost the confidence of the employees by showing your faith in their skills and abilities. Just show them the road and motivate them to move ahead with their own instincts and methods. Let them handle challenges with their own strength and take their decision (of course under your supervision and guidance). Don’t interfere unnecessarily and try to give them their due freedom.
4. Maintain your Influence
Delegate responsibilities to the deserving but do not delegate your influence. Your influence ensures harmony and balance in an organization. Being at the top of the pyramid, you can keep an eye on the complete operational system and can identify the loopholes and weaker links. It is the influence of the CEO that runs across the complete chain and drives the system.
5. Be a part of a CEO Association
A CEO Association or a CEO Club can be of great value to help CEOs learn the art of delegating responsibilities. It provides specialized CEO Coaching to the top management to cater to their specific needs. You will be benefited by the experiences of other industry leaders in the particular situation by attending a CEO Conference.
The position of a CEO is the crucial epicenter of an organization. He has to take tough decisions every day. It is very important for him to consider all aspects attached to a decision. He should make sure that each of his decisions is based on the consensus of his team. The guidance and suggestions at a CEO Peer Group prove helpful to CEOs in spotting areas where they can delegate responsibilities, selecting the right team and achieving targets.
Tom Bordon is a freelance writer who has extensively written about CEO club and CEO association. His articles focus on guiding CEOs, business leaders and entrepreneurs on how to manage their time effectively and make new business plans, and strategies in a CEO conference or CEO coaching.