INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 53
The great
delegation
dilemma
Delegation helps teams thrive by capitalising on a leader’s strengths
and providing a team with opportunities to grow. Two leadership
experts share their tips on effective delegation techniques.
Words Nicola Heath
FOR A FINANCE PROFESSIONAL WHO
is an expert in their field, it might feel
counterintuitive to pass off work to others
in their team. However, delegation is
a key capability in the workplace, especially
for newly promoted managers who are
mastering a new management skill set.
“We only have so many hours in a day,”
says leadership expert Scott Stein, author
of Leadership Hacks. “A manager is
responsible for more tasks than they can
accomplish on their own, so if they don’t
delegate, they have to work more and more
hours and risk burning out.”
Staff suffer in this situation, too.
A manager who fails to delegate gives their
team fewer opportunities to stretch and grow.
As a result, Stein says, staff can grow bored.
“There’s a lot of lost productivity and staff
engagement when delegation doesn't occur.”
WHY DON’T LEADERS DELEGATE?
Many leaders believe they don’t have time
to delegate.
“That’s a myth,” Stein says. “The belief
is ‘By the time I explain how to perform
the task, I could have done it myself’.
This is true if it’s a one-off, but if it’s a task
that has to be done repeatedly and is going
to build somebody else’s skill set, it’s worth
the investment of time.”
A refusal to delegate could also signify
a leader lacks trust in their team or hasn’t
learnt the principles of effective delegation.
“Many leaders don’t know how to do it.
It’s not taught in schools or universities,
or even in a lot of corporate education,”
Stein says.
Leadership expert Emma Campbell
says most leaders are aware they need
to delegate. “They know it is important,
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 53
