A Chief Exeuctive Officer (CEO) of a small business has many hats.  He/she can’t do everything, hence, they should delegate as many tasks as possible to subordinates.  However, there are certain task that a CEO should not delegate.  There are some tasks that are so critical that the CEO will always be held accountable for them.  These are the task that should not be delegated.  The CEO can delegate responsibility, but he/she cannot delegate accountability.

These are the top 10 tasks that every CEO in a small business should not delegate.

1.  GROWTH:

The growth of the company is the sole responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  This duty cannot be delegated.  Supporting task to accomplish this goal can be delegated, but the overall responsibility rest with the CEO.  The CEO sets the goal, establishes the growth strategy and oversees the execution of that strategy.

2.  CORPORATE CULTURE:

The corporate culture comes from the top down.  It cannot be delegated to someone else.  It is the CEO that establishes what the culture of the organization will be and ensures that everyone adhers to the tenants of that culture.  Subordinates can be empowered to implement all elements that is required to establish and maintain the corporate culture, but it is the CEO who is the only one who can make sure that everyone is subscribing to the culture.

3.  EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT:

In a small organization employee development is crucial.  The CEO is the one who determiens the developmental track that everyone should follow and allocate the time and resources to ensure that they employees are developed in the right way.  This duty cannnot be delegated.

4.  REWARDS:

Rewards require approval for time off, financial incentives, money to buy plaques, certificates, etc.  All of these incentives can only be approved by the CEO in a small organization.  He/she cannot delegate this task.  The CEO can delegate subordinates to develop the rewards policy and supervisors can be the ones who are responsible for recommending their subordinates for awards, but the CEO has to oversee the process in order to prevent discrimination and rewarding the wrong employees.

5.  DISCIPLINE:

Disciplinging an employee is a key task and should not be delegated to subordinate.  In a small organization you can have supervisors recommend someone for discipline, but the CEO should have the final decision.  The CEO has to ensure that certain employees are not being single out and discriminated against.  He/she has to ensure that the punishment will not bring legal consequences that could harm the business.  Hence, the CEO should not delegate this task.

6.  HIRING:

Hiring is a key task for the CEO of a small business.  This task cannot be delegated.  The people you hire will work directly for you or one layer away from you.  You will have to rely on them to complete critical tasks.  You have to have a great deal of certainty that the person you are hiring will be around for a long time.  Hiring people that end up leaving the organization after a short time due to incompatibility will cost the organization.  This is too critical a task to delegate to subordinates.  The CEO can have subordinates participate in the hiring process, but he/she have to the one making the decision.

7.  FIRING:

Firing employees is a dirty task.  It is also a task that could get you in legal jeopardy if you don’t do it right.  Hence, this task cannot be delegated.  The CEO must take on this task him/her self.

8.  FUND RAISING:

The CEO is the chief fund raiser for the small business.  No one else can take on this task.  It is the CEO that investors and bankers want to talk to when the business is seeking funding.  Only the CEO can legaly commit the business to financial obligations.

9.  INNOVATION:

The CEO is the Chief Innovator.  The CEO has to set the goal, direction and make the choices in which innovations the company will invest in.  This task cannot be delegated.  Subordinates can make recommendations and execute the plan, but the CEO has to do the rest.

10. QUALITY CONTROL:

The CEO in any organization is the one who is ultimately responsible for the quality of the product the company puts out.  Even though you can hire quality control personnel, they will only ensure that the product is up to the standard you set.  Hence, after setting the standard you still have to check to make sure that the quality control personnel are doing their part consistently over time to meet the standard.