Delegation for Managers - How You Can Save Your Time, and Your Stress
Delegation is undeniably one of the most important skills a manager can possess. When done effectively, it can be a very beneficial tool for a variety of reasons:
Delegation can help to make collaborative projects more efficient through keeping various employees involved
Avoid the potential overlap in assigned tasks and duties
Helps to build successful teams by empowering employees to take ownership over their work
Allows for you to build trust and connection with employees
Grants you time to focus on your vision of the bigger picture within delegated projects
In this blog post, I would like to discuss the importance of delegation for managers, how to delegate effectively, why some managers do not delegate and provide some examples of delegation in the workplace.
Why Is Delegation Important for Managers?
Prior to putting delegation into practice, it is important to understand exactly why delegation is important. Delegation can help leaders build successful teams. Distributing tasks amongst employees can help develop individuals grow their skill set and feel more secure in their role, inspiring a more motivated team in your workplace. Perhaps take a moment to ask yourself, how can I utilize my team to effectively delegate these tasks and get the work done? Who will be the best fit for completing a task of this nature? Answering these questions can help you to effectively delegate to the right members of your team.
Delegating can give you time to focus on other responsibilities that you may have. In order to be an effective leader, you must have a clear vision of what you are working towards. This can be difficult to maintain if you are bogged down with small tasks that could easily be delegated to someone else. Retaining your focus is just one of the many reasons why delegation can be beneficial to both you and your employees.
Effective Delegation in Management
Now that we have gone over some of the reasons delegation is important, let’s discuss how to delegate effectively:
Be clear and concise when communicating what needs to be done. Assign a specific task with well-defined parameters. It is important to provide employees with a clear vision of what is expected of them. This means being specific about deadlines, deliverables and the level of quality you are expecting
Assign a task that is within the employee's skill set and comfort level. You wouldn't want to assign a task to someone that is not properly equipped to see it through
When possible, provide resources and guidance. Delegating does not mean simply dumping a project on someone and forgetting about it. You should still be available to answer any questions or provide assistance when needed
Check in periodically to see how the project is going and offer feedback along the way
Effective delegation should be a win-win for both you and whomever you are delegating to. Continue to check-in with yourself and the employee throughout the process to assure that your task is being executed as planned.
“Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too. ”
Reasons Why Managers Don't Delegate
Despite delegation being an important tool for managers, some choose not to delegate for various reasons. You may want to maintain control over the project and keep a close eye on its progress. Remind yourself that delegation is not an opportunity to micromanage. Once you have delegated a task, resist the urge to check in too frequently or take over the project. This will only serve to frustrate employees and hinder their ability to complete the task effectively.
The fear of delegation often stems from a lack of trust- you may feel like you need to do everything yourself in order to ensure that it gets done correctly. However, this mindset only serves to hinder productivity and prevent members of your team from developing their skills. In order to delegate effectively, trusting and having faith in your team members' abilities is key to relinquishing control.
If you find yourself hesitant to delegate, ask yourself why. Is it because you feel that nobody on your team is capable enough to complete the task? Do you fear that the task will not be completed correctly if you aren't there to oversee it? Take a moment to try and reframe your thinking so that you can get to delegating. After all, it should be used to enhance the efficiency of the work being done, presenting employees with that opportunity to broaden their skillset is key.
Examples of Delegation in the Workplace
Delegation can take many different forms, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The important thing is to tailor delegation to fit the needs of your team and your organization. Here are a few examples of delegation in the workplace:
"I noticed that you are particularly skilled at condensing and summarizing data into something that can be easily understood. Could I ask you to complete this section of the project for me?"
"Last we spoke, you mentioned to me that you were interested in developing as a leader in our department. How would you feel about conducting the meeting that we are holding next week?"
"I have taken note of your ability to stay organized and exercise time-management skills. I have been struggling to keep on top of everything lately, would you be able to help me by creating a schedule for the next month?"
"You have been incredibly helpful with keeping our team focused and motivated lately. I am very impressed with the effort you've been putting in and would like for you to put together a team-building event in the next few weeks."
I hope that this blog post gave you some insight as to how delegation can be an incredibly useful tool to implement in your workplace.
There is plenty of information around the topic of delegation, one in particular is the book Deep and Deliberate Delegation: A new art for unleashing talent and winning back time by David Sitt. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases). This book speaks a lot to all of what comes along with delegating effectively and contains a great deal of useful tips to get you started.
Interested in Learning More About Delegation?
Here are some additional resources on delegation that might be helpful. Please Google the titles below.
The 5 Levels of Delegation - The CEO Project
8 Ways Leaders Delegated Successfully - Harvard Business Review
How to Decide Which Tasks to Delegate – Harvard Business Review