Delegating - Barriers to Delegation in Human Resource Management

Delegating - Barriers to Delegation in Human Resources

Barriers to Delegation: Why People Don't Delegate?

1. High risk of Delegating

The delegation process always comes with risk as it is one of its inherent elements. While the individuals whom you delegated with the tasks are still in the adjustment stage to their new responsibilities, they may commit some errors of judgment.

The risk becomes unavoidable once you delegate, and even if you do the task yourself, there is still risk because risk comes in every responsibility.

You have to bear in mind that even the delegation effort which undergoes careful planning can go wrong sometimes which can result to loss of productivity or profitability. Delegating can never be a risk-free situation but you can minimize the risk through good delegation.

2. Wanting to be in the Limelight

Sometimes, ego holds the manager back from delegating his authority to a subordinate. He worships power and autocracy so much that he feels delegating can reduce his influence over the organization. Unwillingness to delegate authority roots from the fear that if he shares his authority to a competent subordinate, that subordinate will likely to outshine him and will eventually get the credit if the task is successfully completed. An egoistic manager fears of losing control and influence over the group when a delegatee carries out a delegated task and it becomes an obstacle to effective delegation.

3. Lack of Trust in Subordinates

In most cases, managers don’t delegate because they worry that a task will not be done properly and successfully if they don’t do it all by themselves.

Even if they delegate, they seem to be very worried that they give too much unnecessary details, or they monitor too closely. These actions can make the subordinate annoyed and less motivated which may result to inefficient performance.

Managers hesitate to delegate authority because they feel that subordinates are less competent in dealing with problems which will arise and in making judgment while the task is in progress.

4. Fear of Competition

Another barrier to delegation is the fear of competition. Failure is among of the managers’ fears which can make them hesitant to delegate task to their subordinates.

Some insecure managers refuse to recognize or acknowledge the skills of their subordinates out of the fear that if their subordinates will be given some tasks and do better than they can, they become afraid that their subordinates’ good performance will cause them to be replaced someday.

These managers may also fear that if some people can do their managerial function effectively, they might be seen as unimportant and worthless figures in the organization.

They think that it would be best if they keep their own tasks even if it means losing their productivity. Some managers also feel that if they delegate their tasks, it will cause them to lose control over the project.

5. Managers Don’t Know How to Delegate

In the process of delegation, a manager needs to consider important things so that risks can be avoided. The sad truth is that many managers don’t actually know how to delegate properly. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that they themselves have not seen a successful delegation which has been properly done, or maybe it is because they focus too much on every tiny detail of a task that they seem to overlook the benefits of delegating.

They seem to be very anxious to do a task well by themselves without giving delegation a try. If they did try in the past, perhaps it never became successful so they might think that delegating again is just a waste of time and effort.

Barriers to Delegation: Why People Refuse To Accept Delegated Tasks?

1. Lack of Trust in Themselves

Inferiority complex on the part of the employees is the most common reason why employees resist delegation. The subordinates feel that their capabilities are limited so they often refuse to accept the challenges which may arise from delegation. They fear that their colleagues or superior will know that they are incapable of doing the tasks when something doesn’t go right during the course of task completion. They also fear that their inability to handle tasks assigned to them will be exposed when they accept the tasks and eventually fail to complete them. Inferiority complex is a serious obstacle to delegation.

2. Difficulty in Decision-Making

Even though the manager is ready to share authority to employees, some subordinates depend too much on the manager in making decisions. They always choose to go to their delegator for even the simplest of problems that need quick decision-making. These individuals don’t have the skill to quickly look upon the situation and implement decisions on their own. These individuals always want their superior to tackle the problems and decide. They always try to avoid mental tension and always turn to their superior for opinion and advice. The subordinates who are afraid to make decisions and lack confidence on their ability will refuse accepting responsibilities.

3. Poor Superior-Subordinate Relations

One factor that hampers the process of delegation of authority is the lack of rapport between superior and subordinate. The manager may be hostile to employees and shows unapproachable or unfriendly attitude. When employees do a good job, a manager refuses to appreciate it and focuses on the errors of employees. The manager often causes undue interference in the work assignment of the subordinates, making them less productive. In effect, a subordinate refuses a certain task delegated by a superior due to the latter’s unfavorable attitude. The manager constantly interferes with the subordinate’s work and controls him so the subordinate always refuses delegation.

4. Lack of Positive Incentives

Positive incentives go a long way in building the morale of the subordinates whether they are in the form of recognition, monetary benefit or appreciation. Such benefits are helpful in persuading the subordinates to join in the delegation process and in trying their best to successfully complete the task delegated to them. The rewards that come with the delegation of authority can make the subordinates cheerfully and willingly do the tasks assigned to them. Overusing incentives on the other hand, can cause unhealthy competition among members of organization so it must be carefully given at the right amount and at the right time.

5. Lack of information

A subordinate is hesitant to accept a task when he feels that the important information necessary for him to acquire for successfully performing the task is not made available for him. This results in reluctance of a subordinate to accept the delegated functions and authority because he believes he can’t be able to perform well. Lack of information simply means lack of knowledge of what he is going to do. The delegator must make adequate information available to a subordinate whom the task is passed on, to ensure proper handling of the task.

This hub covers Delegating - Barriers To Delegation in Human Resources Management