Delegation has been a big topic in leadership blogs over the past few years, and that’s because it’s easy to talk about, but difficult to accomplish.
Delegation is incredibly important for organizations that make it a priority to develop talented, high potential individuals. That’s because each of your employees has different strengths, and you want to maximize those strengths. For organizations, this means that simply distributing work evenly isn’t enough – it’s important to give the right work to the right people.
Delegating tasks the right way helps employees understand your expectations and develop ways to get work done quickly.
Since this is a crucial part of managing teams, we’ve compiled a list of ways your managers can delegate better.
Explain Why You’re Delegating
You don’t want your employees to think you’re taking advantage of them or passing them work that you don’t want to do. Instead, help your employees understand why this work matters, and how their skills will help your team and department be more productive.
Arm them with the right mindset by defining your expectations, clarifying the value of their contributions, and ensuring this assignment aligns with their capabilities. By assigning work this way, you’re preparing your employees to be successful in the work that isn’t already a common part of their role.
Coach the Right Skills
Oftentimes, leaders are hesitant to delegate important tasks because that means giving control of the outcome to someone else.
It’s perfectly normal to experience that anxiety, but it’s an indication that you’re not confident in your employees’ ability to handle bigger responsibilities.
That’s a bit of a problem, because if you can’t trust anyone to take on more responsibility, how can you develop new leadership in your organization? How can employees be expected to stay at your organization if they believe that there is little chance of growth?
Coaching your employees on handling work that may be more specific to a leadership role helps you to develop your employees out of entry level positions. Managers who can coach and delegate well have high levels of trust on their teams, which in turn increases productivity, employee engagement, and overall success.
Be Available
Above all, make yourself available throughout the entire life-cycle of a project, especially if this type of work is new to your employees, or there are unusual circumstances surrounding a particular project.
Demonstrating your willingness to help with questions or problems will generate an eagerness in your team for helping with important projects in the future.
Delegation is an important tool for the modern manager, and as projects become more complex, it’s important to develop this skill and build a collaborative culture in your organization.
