. An entrepreneur is a busy person. They carry a heavy burden of responsibility and many duties on their shoulders. This is especially true in smaller companies, where the entrepreneur is simultaneously the owner, supervisor, and manager. In this case, they particularly feel the weight of all the responsibilities that bind and commit them. An entrepreneur must handle all situations, must be able to lead their employees, understand them, and choose among various solutions to problems… But why shouldn’t a small business owner also make use of one of the key managerial functions—delegation?

Delegation involves transferring a task previously performed by a superior manager—in our case, the entrepreneur—to a subordinate employee, including the corresponding level of authority and the creation of appropriate conditions, including the necessary resources. It is not merely a matter of assigning a task for which the employee is responsible for proper execution, given their job position. When a task is delegated, the corresponding authority must also be transferred (though responsibility remains with the delegating manager or entrepreneur).

Delegation offers many advantages for entrepreneurs, including—first and foremost—more time for other important matters, the ability to accomplish more work in less time, the employee can bring new ideas and approaches, their competencies and motivation are developed, and it becomes easier to evaluate or supervise them, thereby preventing the company from stagnating.

At the same time, however, we can also see benefits for the employee to whom we entrust the delegated task, particularly in terms of their professional growth, improved work results, increased interest in their work, and their sense of self-satisfaction and pride stemming from their supervisor’s trust.

Delegation should focus on activities that are more routine in nature; these should involve minor, frequently recurring decisions, work that facilitates the subordinate’s development, or activities that add variety to the employee’s otherwise routine work. It is not recommended to delegate tasks such as formulating goals and visions, monitoring and evaluating the performance of other employees, activities involving confidential information, entirely new tasks that employees have not encountered before, or tasks involving too much responsibility.