IT leaders in most enterprises have their hands full handling the entire gamut of technology and related tasks. They don multiple hats. They manage infrastructure, control the network, facilitate the workforce, drive change, and do more. They face many distractions that make them unable to focus on tasks that create the most impact. Effective delegation helps IT leaders to focus on their core tasks. 

Many leaders refrain from delegation because of various practical and emotional barriers. For instance, they are afraid to relinquish control. Effective delegation benefits the delegator, the delegates, and the enterprise. But IT leaders must be careful about what tasks they delegate. Delegating the right tasks increases efficiency and improves the quality of decisions. But if done wrong, the results turn the opposite.

What not to delegate

Here are the tasks IT leaders would do well to do by themselves.

1. Strategy

IT leaders work with the C-suite and top management to develop and implement IT strategies. A typical CIO:

• Makes sure the IT strategy aligns with enterprise business objectives. 
• Identifies new technologies and evaluates their potential impact on the enterprise. 
• Prepares the IT budget.

IT leaders who delegate such strategic tasks shoot themselves in the foot. IT strategic planning and financial management are critical tasks that have enterprise-wise implications. The IT budget not being spent on the right tech resources erodes competitiveness. 

Effective IT leaders leverage their expertise to optimise budget allocations. They 

• Craft strategies that balance routine operations and digital transformation. 
• Identify cost-saving opportunities.
• Take direct responsibility for forecasting and monitoring expenses. 

2. Crisis management

Real leaders do not delegate crisis management. A crisis is when the leader has to lead from the front and assuage the stakeholders. Instances of crisis have become aplenty of late in IT. Cyberattacks, especially ransomware and DDoS attacks, require quick decisions with a cool head. Sudden changes in the external environment often induce shocks to enterprises. Ordinary leaders remained overawed by the situation. They either panic or become indecisive. Successful leaders take stock of the situation and make timely and often proactive decisions. 

The importance of leadership manifested itself most during the outbreak of COVID-19. IT leaders who made personal efforts could transition their teams to work-from-home with lesser chaos.

3. Team management

IT leaders would do well to manage their teams by themselves. 

One of the significant CIO roles is to build teams and nurture employees. The CIO has to bring in the right talent and develop effective teams. 

The CIO also needs to take a personal interest in identifying the team members who need additional support and training. Successful leaders engage, motivate, and inspire their subordinates. Of late, the servant leadership style has gained ground, where leaders serve as enablers and facilitators. They provide all the resources needed for employees to deliver their productive best and empower employees to do the work their way.

Effective IT leaders:

• Set goals and offer employees the necessary resources. 
• Provide proactive feedback and support to ensure the employees remain on track to meet targets. 
• Evaluate the employee’s work in the context of the enterprise goals and the macro environment. They nudge the employee to make changes as needed. 

Delegating these tasks would be doing the enterprise a disservice.

4. Vendor management

Vendor management is too critical for IT leaders to delegate. Industry 4.0 and the associated digitisation have brought the ecosystem into prominence. No enterprise can do everything independently. Enterprises become resilient by cultivating and maintaining an ecosystem of competent partners.

Vendor management involves selecting the best agent to deliver products and services. The onus is on IT leaders to 

• Identify or short-list vendors that meet the organisation’s needs.
• Negotiate contracts
• Managing vendor relationships to make sure operations remain friction-free. IT leaders must ensure vendors meet enterprise security and compliance requirements.

5. Personal responsibility

It is inappropriate for IT leaders to delegate personal responsibility. Such tasks include 

• Performance evaluations
• Counselling, disciplining, and other confidential personnel matters
• Initiatives that require the leader to lead from the front and boost the confidence of the rank and file. For instance, successful digital transformation requires the CIO to walk the talk themselves. 

What to delegate?

IT leaders could, however, delegate the following tasks.

1. Routine tasks

Enterprise IT always has several routine tasks on its plate. These tasks include software updates, system backups, and data management. Such essential but time-consuming and add little value. Delegating these tasks to team members frees up the CIO’s time to focus on higher-value things. The development automation technologies allow auto-piloting of most system admin, updates, and backup tasks. Developments in AI enable automating even complex tasks such as network monitoring. 

Also, technical oriented tasks that do not need leadership skills are best delegated to save the leaders’ time. The most common of such tasks include:

• Documentation
• Help desk support. Most help desk support involves tasks such as password reset or connectivity issues. IT leaders have to enforce supervisory control over such tasks. But paying too much attention to such routine tasks leaves them little time for higher-value things. IT leaders would do well to empower team leaders with decision-making capabilities.

2. Project management

IT leaders who prefer micromanagement get involved in project management. But project management is one area best left to experienced team members.

Project management involves planning, execution, and monitoring of projects. Any team member with expertise in project management and the basic qualifications for the task suffice. The key project-related leadership tasks include managing scope and efficiently utilising resources. Empowering talented team members to take on such tasks offers them a valuable opportunity to prove their worth.

Likewise, IT leaders can delegate product road mapping to empowered product teams. 

3. Training and development

The value of training and development activities has increased of late due to rapid tech advances. Most enterprises struggle to hire talented hands, especially in data science, AI, and other in-demand domains. Enterprises take the training route to upskill their employees for competencies in such new skills. IT leaders should confine themselves to the strategic role of deciding on which training to impart. It is best to delegate the details, such as identifying the trainees, preparing the curriculum, and imparting the training. 

Only 30% of managers believe they can delegate well, and from them, their team members consider only one out of three as good delegators. While IT leaders strive to strike the right balance, they should also make sure not to get in the way. Many enterprises today are in the midst of digital transformation and seek to empower work teams. Agile success depends on empowered teams capable of making independent decisions. Team autonomy breeds innovation, accelerates time to market, and improves product quality. IT leaders may stick to facilitating the creative process and leave the implementation of ideas to team members.

Delegation is inevitable for CIOs and other IT leaders. No leader can expect to do everything and still keep their sanity. Successful leaders also develop the fine art of knowing what to delegate and what not to delegate, to reap success.