After your group decides their goals for the year it is your job to see that those goals are carried out and achieved.  Because the goal belongs to an entire group, it is most likely to big of a goal for one person to handle all alone.  That is why it is necessary for most leaders to know the art of delegation.  Delegating the work load is a way to get things done more efficiently and effectively.  It is also a way to keep yourself from being overworked and to help keep the other members of your troupe involved.

Here are some facts about delegation that will help you to be a more effective leader:

1. The best way to increase your effective authority is to delegate it.  (To hoard is to lose it.)

2. Once you assign responsibility, be sure that you delegate the necessary authority with it. (Trust people until they become trustworthy.)

3. Always work through channels.  If you give a member or committee responsibility, don't destroy your right to hold them accountable by unnecessarily interfering with the work.

4. Delegate only if you have confidence that the member is capable of intelligently handling the power.

5. Assigning responsibility does not lessen your responsibility.  It merely gives you a capacity to handle greater responsibilities.

6. Clearly define the responsibilities assigned to each member and make this information known to others who work with them.

7. Once you have delegated, follow up to make sure the job is being accomplished.

8. If possible, delegate in such a way that members receive instruction form only one person and are held accountable only to that person.

9. Never assign duties to a member solely because these duties are distasteful or unpleasant to you.

10. When you delegate authority over others to someone, be sure to back up these people when their authority is called into question.

11. Be quick to straighten out any complaints about an appointee overstepping assigned authority.

12. Let appointees know specifically what decisions they have authority to make.  Have decisions made on the lowest possible organizational level.

The delegation of authority is the means whereby you extend your influence and become capable of assuming greater responsibility.  Delegation is the foundation of organization.  It is one means of self-multiplication.