The art of delegation
Our top tips for delegating to your team
Delegation can be a tricky step to take but it’s absolutely essential if you want to adopt a healthy work/life balance and run a successful business. It may have been instilled in you at a young age that, if you want to do something right, then do it yourself, but if you become too engrossed in doing things this way, you will never learn to delegate – nor will you reap the benefits. In today’s remote working world, delegation is key, but not an easy thing for leaders to master. But once you learn to let go and trust people, you not only allow your team members to succeed, but you also enable yourself to focus on the most pressing needs of your work.
So how do you learn to let go?
Decide you are going to delegate
As you advance in your career or as your business grows, delegating to others is crucial to your overall success. It will become increasingly difficult to balance all your responsibilities and at the same time, continually keep up with the same high standard of work. To prevent burn-out, and mistakes, accept that delegation is needed and that in the long term it will save you time and effort, enabling you to focus on the core needs of your work.
Decide what to delegate
Small businesses in particular are often overwhelmed with the number of administrative tasks needed to keep operations running smoothly. Valuable time and energy are taken away with little time to focus on anything else. Think about the tasks that bring in your income and focus your energy on the core needs of the business. You need to identify these needs and decide what you can let go of. If you’ve never delegated before, start with something small, or something that doesn’t have to be completed in a specific way. Don’t delegate tasks you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself as this may lose your team’s respect and desire to help you.
Choose the right people
Choosing the right person on your team for the job is crucial to effective delegating. Think about the type of person you work well with, who has the appropriate experience, and above all, somebody you can trust. Layout your expectations at the outset and make sure this person is confident and comfortable working without constant supervision. The key is to be aware of both your own and your team members’ strengths and weaknesses so you can effectively delegate.
Communicate clearly
Open and clear communication from the start is essential to ensure that the tasks you delegate are done well. Provide your team members with all of the information needed, including timelines and expectations, to ensure they are able to achieve the desired outcome. Be ready to answer any additional questions. The more clarification you give, the more likely they will come back with exactly what you’re hoping for.
Resist the urge to micro-manage
Once you’ve chosen the appropriate person to delegate to, you need to trust them to complete the task by themselves. Set a timescale and as difficult as it may be, resist the need to check up on them unless of course they have any questions and need some guidance along the way. Give your team members flexibility on how they approach the task, except if there are specific procedures that need to be adhered to. Wait for the task to be completed before you then judge how successful it’s been.
Practice patience
Delegating will free up your time in the long run but do be prepared to take some extra time out of your schedule to answer questions and provide guidance in the short term. As you learn the strengths and weaknesses of individual team members, and they learn your expectations, things will get easier. Be patient and understanding. We are all human so accept that mistakes will happen. Whilst you should address problems when they arise, do it in a way that your team members can learn from their mistakes and do things differently next time.
Acknowledge a job well done and give credit where it’s due
Whenever a task is completed well and to the standard you expect, always take the time to give thanks and praise to the appropriate person. Likewise, taking all the credit for a task that others assisted on will bring down team morale, so make sure you recognise and thank anyone who’s helped you, and make your whole team look good for doing the job well.
Delegating takes practice and is a constant learning process but sharing your responsibilities will not only create a greater sense of community and collaboration, ultimately it will produce the success you may not have realised on your own.
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“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”