The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Team work essential for good results

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Team work essential for good results

Special Correspondent

Delegating work does not come easily for some

Bangalore: Many executives may be spending too much time at work, simply because they have not learned the virtues of delegating some of the work to others. For some who always want to be in control of things, delegating does not come easily.

The "I can do it better" attitude may be good in certain situations but not always.

For example, a project report can be a satisfying team effort, involving all and inviting suggestions.

Brainstorming together as a team invariably produces good results because good ideas are not the monopoly of any one person in an organisation.

A sense of involvement builds up great teams. By refusing to delegate or by being wary of accepting even useful suggestions from other, many executives may be losing out on improving systems and processes within an organisation.

In fast evolving work situations as in the technology sector, what worked well for some years may not work now because many things have simply changed drastically.

There are functions within any organisations where delegation and clear demarcation of responsibilities are a must.

A working day has only a certain number of productive hours and senior and even mid-level executives have responsibilities where their personal touch is necessary.

Meetings with clients and with suppliers cannot be delegated. But day-to-day work such as inventory control can involve several persons from the shop floor level to the executive rooms.

Why some managers are reluctant to delegate work has been analysed carefully by management experts over the years. There is often enough the problem of ego and reluctance to accept that others too can do the same work, perhaps, even faster and better.

Then there are unfortunate association of thoughts with some bad experience.

Where a duty was delegated but not carried out properly. Chances are after the corrective measures and mistakes having been pointed out, it may not happen again.

But some managers live too much with past experiences and cannot give a person a second chance.

By focussing on core needs of the organisation and by delegating much of the routine chores, a manager not only saves valuable time but can also get more accomplished within a given period of time.

With less personal stress and perhaps, with more satisfaction.

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