One of the most essential skills any leader has is delegation, yet it’s one of the most difficult to master. Too little, and you may burn yourself out. If you do too much, you begin to feel you have no control. Balancing it right can be a tightrope walk though when done right it allows your team flourish, navigate better and frees up some of the leaders’ time to deal with what truly matters.
The topic of delegation strikes us in this article as we look into applicable strategies so that you can make your team thrive and excel, without also drowning into micromanagement.
Why Delegation Matters
Let’s start with the big picture: Why does delegation become so critical? But it’s not just about lightening your workload. Delegation:
- Boosts Team Productivity: Having your team share the responsibilities will keep you free to work on the strategic decisions while your team gets to deal with the operational tasks.
- Empowers Employees: Delegating accountability shows that you trust your team which in turn boosts confidence and morale.
- Builds Skills: New challenges for team members help them grow in their profession and overall create a stronger more versatile workforce.
- Prevents Burnout: It was never something one leader could (or should) do all by himself. If you learn how to delegate, you won’t burn out and also stay focused.
We are clear on why we need to do it, and you will see that once you know why, the how is rather easy.
1. Understand What to Delegate
Focus on Your Strengths
To delegate, you first have to identify tasks that will be handled better by others… or don’t even need your attention. This might consist of administrative tasks, routine reporting or smaller projects.
Keep Strategic Work for Yourself
If you’re a leader, you should be focused on strategic priorities, long range planning, and your decisions. Use your time for the important things by delegating operational and routine tasks.
2. Choose the Right People
Match Skills to Tasks
Offloading work isn’t just delegation, it’s about delegating the right tasks to the right person. Think about what your team’s strengths and weaknesses are, and what careers they want. Design tasks that fit their abilities or enhance their knowledge in those areas they’re passionate about.
Consider Workload
Pay attention to how much work your team has right now. It’s going to be a mistake, and it’s going to aggravate someone who’s already overloaded. Spread out the responsibility across the team — no one wants to be a glutton.
3. Communicate Clearly
Set Expectations
Effective delegation is the enemy of vague instructions. Be crystal clear about:
- The task you’re delegating.
- The desired outcome.
Then comes the end date.
Any of the relevant guidelines or resources.
Explain the Why
A task’s purpose motivates people more. Explain why the task is interesting and important to the whole story. Besides inspiring your team, it also helps your team direct their efforts in line with their most important tasks.
4. Trust, But Verify
Give Autonomy
When you give somebody a task to delegate, back away from it and let this person become the owner of it. Don’t micromanage every step. Tell them to proceed in their own manner even though it isn’t how you would do it.
Check In, Don’t Hover
You can have autonomy, but you still need to maintain contact. Regular schedule check ins so that you can review progress, answer questions, and support. The key is finding a balance: Available without hovering.
5. Provide the Right Resources
Set Them Up for Success
When your team has the tools, resources, and training they need to do their best work, delegation works best. This could constitute giving access to software, giving a budget or buying additional training, for example.
Be Available
Promote an environment where communication is open so that breaking down obstacles for each team member isn’t a hassle. This avoids delay in the task movement and keeps the task on course.
6. Encourage Problem-Solving
Empower Decision-Making
When you delegate, you should empower your team to make decisions related to the task it is being assigned to. Doing so helps save time, encourages their confidence and critical thinking.
Provide Guidance, Not Solutions
When someone on your team brings an issue to you, don’t default to solving it for them. Be more proactive and direct them towards the solution of their own. This method helps build their problem-solving skills and allows them independence.
7. Avoid the Trap of Perfectionism
Let Go of “Your Way”
Another big barrier to effective delegation is the belief that nobody else can do the task nearly so well as you know how to do it. This may sometimes be the case, but perfectionism is frequently accompanied by micromanagement concerning unnecessary things. Only focus on the outcome, and not the process.
Learn to Accept Mistakes
It’s part of learning that mistakes will occur. But use it as an opportunity to give constructive feedback and help your team get better for next time.
8. Give Constructive Feedback
Acknowledge Success
If a team member finishes a piece of work, give them recognition. Be specific in your praise: The friendlier feedback is much better than vagueness: “Good job.”
Provide Growth-Oriented Feedback
And if you feel there’s room for improvement, do so in a constructive manner ‘rooting’ the person on. Frame it as a learning opportunity: “Maybe you could save time next time and approach it this way.”
9. Monitor and Adjust
Assess the Process
Reflect on how your task delegation went after. Were the instructions clear? Did the team member have the resources he needed? Take these insights in, to change your future delegation strategies.
Adapt to Your Team’s Growth
When your team learns new skills, change the tasks that you delegate. Keeping them engaged and on her toes is continual challenge of new responsibilities.
10. Practice Patience
Build Confidence Gradually
If you’ve never delegated, start small. Trust and confidence in your team’s abilities can be built by giving them low risk tasks to do. This allows over time to become more complex with your responsibilities.
Trust the Process
Both you and your team need to practice delegation. Just keep patting yourself on the back; it takes a lifetime to figure out how to let go, so be patient with yourself. Be patient with your team as they must step up to the plate.
Final Thoughts
Offloading tasks isn’t the only thing with delegation, it’s also a great way to build a stronger, more capable team. You can get the right people, communicate in clear terms, and balance between giving guidance and letting them work with autonomy and you’ll be able to empower your team to accomplish great things.
And remember: It’s not always about losing control of something—it’s about taking hold of the opportunity that someone else can help you grow, innovate, and succeed. But what behavior are you going to delegate next? Take that first step today.
LekFex 