In the professional world, we are motivated by the idea of being ‘all-rounders’. This idea has been so glamourized that we often forget that running a business is not a one-day game. In business, you have to perform at your best regularly, and doing everything yourself will only burn you out, potentially hurting the interests of your business.
Delegation, or assigning responsibilities to others is a smart way to not only protect yourself from such burnouts, but also increase the quality and creativity of work. Here are 7 key steps to master the art of delegation:
- Set a clear objective: Before starting to assign responsibilities, you should have a clear objective for why you are delegating. Reasons can vary from business to business, but to start thinking, you can consider these: to reduce your workload and save your energy for more critical tasks; maximum utilization of the skills and capabilities of your team to expedite project completion; and utilizing the specialized skills of the most qualified individuals on your team to ensure expert handling of tasks, etc.?
- Set clear targets:? Aside from setting objectives for yourself, you must provide a clear roadmap to the assignees of what is expected of them. This ensures clear communication between you and your team that in turn will promote the successful completion of delegated tasks.
- Correct hiring: Hiring the right individuals for the right task is crucial for effective delegation. By assigning tasks to individuals who possess the necessary capabilities or are likely to benefit from the experience, you can support their growth and skill building.?
For instance, entrusting a person with leadership potential to lead a small project provides an opportunity for them to develop and showcase their leadership abilities. This experience builds their confidence, refines their skills, and prepares them for future leadership roles within the organization.
- Use delegation tools: Set up a delegation management process and tech-fueled tools can be really helpful here.?
For instance, tools like Slack help delegators assign tasks, set deadlines and monitor progress. Slack also offers an array of features that improve communication, task management and collaboration within the team.?
- Mentoring: Mentoring fosters independence among employees by? empowering them with knowledge, expertise, resources for task handling and skill development, reducing reliance on constant supervision. By investing time and effort into training your team, you empower them to become more efficient and capable, resulting in quicker task execution in the future.
- Open door policy: For successful delegation of work, it is important to uphold an open door policy where questions are not only allowed but also encouraged. In this way you will send out a message that you are approachable which in turn creates an atmosphere where team members feel comfortable seeking guidance and clarification. An open-door policy also enables you to stay informed about the progress and challenges your team members are facing.?
- Recognition and Feedback: Feedback in delegation fosters open communication and cultivates a sense of belonging and ownership among the employees. Similarly, recognizing and appreciating good work enhances the motivation and confidence of the employees and also encourages them to take initiative and strive for excellence.?
Read more about effective delegation and additional tips in our Review on becoming a serial delegator: https://ikanabusinessreview.com/how-to-become-a-serial-delegator/
