Becoming an excellent leader is a challenge for most and can be uncomfortable sometimes. You need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone to become the best you can be. There are a few simple steps you can take to become the most effective delegator you can be and in turn you’ll become a more productive leader.
Here are ten tips to improve your delegation skills.
Involve Your Direct Reporting Staff
When delegating tasks to other employees, you need to consider all parties involved. If there is a direct manager that oversees the work of the person you are delegating to, you need to involve them in your decision. Your manager or employee that is overseeing the project will need to know what the expectations are, how to help and what the scope of work is. They will have valuable insight to help you determine the best person to delegate to as well.
Communicate Your Expectations
When delegating it’s important to outline the scope of work and your expectations clearly. Ensure that the person you are delegating to understands what is expected of them fully, and answer any questions they may have. Clearly communicating with this individual will decrease the likelihood of errors and will ensure your project goes smoothly.
Balance Your Supervision
When delegating it can be difficult to take a step back. You need to find a balance between overstepping and not being involved enough. Check in with your staff for project updates, and to stay in the loop, but don’t be breathing over their shoulder either. You need to trust the people you are delegating to.
Push Decision Making
When delegating, choose the most effective person for the task. Some tasks may require employees with higher skill sets, and some may be more entry level. Either way you need to delegate to the proper staff level, and where you can always push tasks to the lowest level that they can be accomplished effectively at. This will help to save you money on the project and give your more entry level employees more experience.
Establish Authority
Be sure you give authority to the person handling the project that allows them to utilize resources as needed, and enough power to make decisions as the project progresses. This will save time in back and forth communication during the duration of the project.
Provide Resources
You should always provide any resources necessary to complete the job from the start. A large part of this piece is being organized and having the project or task ready to hand off with a scope of work, clear expectations, and resources all together. Presenting your task this way saves time and money in communication, and clarification conversations. Providing resources from the beginning also saves back and forth between you and the person you’ve delegated to.
Give Credit Where It’s Due
People like to feel appreciated. Give positive feedback about the task or project to the person working on it. It’s great for morale and boosts the individuals confidence which, in turn, boosts productivity and work ethic. Know that things can go wrong, but ensure you handle them in a professional manner. Instead of pointing the finger, talk about the situation and create a plan to ensure it doesn’t happen again with the person who was working on the project.
Don’t Back Track
When first starting to delegate, you’re in for a huge learning curve. Sometimes delegation can be frustrating and it may seem easier to just complete certain tasks yourself. Whatever you do, don’t take the work you’ve given back. Doing so will decrease morale in your company. You need to be patience, and look at delegation as a teaching experience. The more you delegate, the better you will get at it, and the better your employees will get at accepting tasks or projects.
Be Accountable
Even though there may be a manager watching over the task or project in question, it’s important you stay accountable too. Keep track of progress reports, help if there is a need for it, and make yourself available to your staff.
Be Consistent
If you’re going to begin delegating work, be consistent. Employees or contractors will struggle with delegation if you only hand tasks or projects out sparingly. Utilize these staff to their fullest potential. Consistency builds confidence and confidence builds productivity. As you delegate you’ll get to know your staff’s strengths and weaknesses. Use that to your advantage when delegating consistently too.
Do you have any tips to share about delegating tasks in your workplace?
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