Learning to delegate well is one way to build a strong and versatile team. It also allows you to make the best use of your time and skill set. Poor delegation, on the other hand will lead to frustration, confusion and demotivation. When you are able to determine what tasks can be delegated, you not only free up your time so that you can focus on more important items, you strengthen your team’s knowledge, productivity and growth. How do you determine what tasks are suitable for delegation? Ask yourself these questions:
- Can someone else be given the information and tools to complete this task, or is it truly something that you have to do yourself
- Do you have the time to train someone, and then periodically check to make sure the work is being done accurately and is on course? Do you have enough time to have the work redone if there are errors?
- Is this a recurring task that the person you’re delegating it to can take over?
Once you’ve decided to delegate a task, the next step is to decide the proper person to delegate it to. Consider the person’s current knowledge, workload and training needed. Be sure you both agree on the level of authority the team member will have in making decisions along the way. Also, take in to account what that person’s goals and interests are to determine if taking on this work will be advantageous to their long-term plan.
Finally, how you delegate can determine your success. Good communication is essential; you must clearly articulate goals, deadlines, checkpoints and boundaries. Encourage questions, and offer feedback throughout. If the final product is not what you had hoped for, don’t accept it. Instead, insist on reworking until you receive an acceptable finished product thereby ensuring your team member has truly learned a new skill. Then, make sure that their good work is recognized!
Until next time,
Yours truly,
Tommy Antonopoulos, Blogger for OfficeTime
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