Many business owners like to control each and every aspect of their company. It's their baby, they may well have founded it, and even as it grows they feel like they need to be involved in the details.

There are several factors behind this desire to keep control. These include lack of trust in their team and the fear that if they delegate responsibility to others something will go wrong. There’s also a concern that explaining a new task to someone will be too time consuming.

On the other hand, studies show that delegating, and getting better at it, has many business benefits. According to a report by PwC, employees who feel they can act with autonomy tend to have stronger job performance, higher job satisfaction and greater commitment to the organisation.

Business owners and leaders also benefit by freeing themselves up from more routine tasks, so that they can focus on activities that add more value to the business, and avoiding burnout.

This guide explains the key factors involved in delegation, common mistakes business owners make and quick wins you can start implementing today.

The size of the company

The smaller the company, the more likely it is that the business owner will be involved in every function of the business – and be more inclined to micro-manage. The sooner leaders grow out of this habit the more growth you can unlock.

Recognition of the benefits

Getting better at delegating and giving your team autonomy becomes easier when you have a firm grasp of the potential benefits:

• The business owner avoids burnout
• It frees up the business leader to work where they most add value
• Employees develop new confidence and skills
• Higher levels of job satisfaction and staff retention
• It encourage innovation and new approaches

Failing to match the person or team with the task

Even though the person is willing, if they don’t have the right skill set, support or resources, it’s likely to lead to failure. This can cause issues with business performance and employee morale.

Paying lip service to autonomy or delegation

Some business leaders say they are delegating a task or giving more autonomy, however, they then have a tendency to keep interfering without giving the person or team sufficient time to work things out for themselves.

This undermines the confidence of those staff and creates the sense that you don’t fully trust them. Taking back tasks is particularly damaging.

Poor communication

Not communicating effectively with your team before you delegate a task can mean that people are unclear on what you want from them, setting them up for failure.

Leaving people to sink or swim

Interfering too much has its downsides, but leaving people to sink or swim without any support can also be risky and may result in the task not being carried out to a satisfactory standard.

Blaming others

When things do go wrong there may be a tendency to blame the person or the team, when the root cause may be something you’re responsible for, such as goal setting, training or resources. Where blame isn’t justified people will be reluctant to come forward again.

Start off small

Begin with small tasks and, based on how well the person does, build up to bigger and more complex activities.

Sell the benefits

If you want someone to take on a new task, sell the benefits. Explain how it could help them grow in their career or give them an opportunity to work on something they’re passionate about.

Changing job descriptions to reflect a person’s new responsibilities will give them a sense that this is something serious. Be prepared to have a discussion about salary too.

Offer relevant training

When delegating a task or giving a team more autonomy, make sure they have the right skills, knowledge and support. Perhaps training is required or they need to give up some of their work to make time for the new activity.

Change your mindset

Giving autonomy to people and teams means allowing them to do things differently. This requires a change of mindset by business leaders and an acceptance that with this freedom comes a greater risk of failure alongside the potential upside new approaches bring.

If things go well, make sure you give those involved full credit and highlight the success within the company.

Communication is key

Make sure both parties have a common understanding of the expected deliverables, timeframe and scope. Also, specify any expected milestones along the way and a framework for reporting progress.

Giving employees more freedom to do the job their way requires that they have a clear understanding of the organisation’s strategy and how the work they are doing fits in.

Adopt a “checking in” not a “checking on” approach

Constantly checking up on people undermines them, so adopt a checking-in approach instead. The way you phrase questions about progress can have a big impact. Asking broad questions, such as how something is going or whether they have the support they need, is better than jumping right into micromanagement.

Don’t throw an employee in at the deep end

You will improve the chances that delegating a task to someone will be successful if you don’t throw them in the deep end.

Let the person or the team know you have confidence in their ability to deliver, but at the same time reassure them that you are available to support them should they need it.

Now you’ve learnt about the underlying factors that affect leaders' ability to delegate, use our dedicated action plan to direct your next steps.