Are you that one-man (or woman) team that does everything on your own? Perhaps you have other capable people around you, but you can’t bring yourself to pass off some of your dearest projects, or even pieces of those projects, to them.
Delegation can be a difficult skill to master. While it can be extremely helpful in developing your team and freeing up your time, delegation does require some work and know-how. If you’ve been frustrated in the past by failed attempts to delegate or find the strategy too daunting to even start, try using these tips for mastering delegation and running your team with expertise:
Take Time to Train
You’re going to have to mentor your staff to do the tasks you’re delegating so that they learn to complete them exactly as you wish. This means an investment of time, resources and most of all, patience. Make sure you’re providing clear guidelines, making the necessary resources available and providing feedback throughout the process.
Pick Tasks Wisely
Pick tasks to delegate wisely. Some great points to consider are:
- Is this a recurring task? This means training time will be wisely invested.
- Does the task fall within the responsibility level of the employee? Decisions that have long-term implications on success need to be done by you. But, writing some sales copy or keeping basic accounting can probably be delegated.
- Will it free up your time to take care of more important items?
Tasks Grow Skills
Remember that delegation can be used to grow your staff’s skills. So, plan delegation strategically to slowly build on talents. For example, you can slowly add responsibilities for your secretary, starting with managing schedules and incoming calls, up to contacting clients and planning events.
Need more tips and tricks on effectively delegating? Contact StratIQ for Leader & Team Development consulting.
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