Only 28% of businesses offer any training regarding delegation — even though half of them are concerned that delegation is not being handled effectively. For CEOs and managers, delegation skills are not optional. In fact, these are the only way to progress.
The process of delegation is the process of prioritisation — letting go of tasks that you can allow others to handle so that you can focus on the tasks that only you can handle.
Through appropriate delegation, CEOs and managers can free themselves up for the most important tasks while also giving their employees the benefit of additional experience and advanced skills.
Nevertheless, there are some definite psychological and practical barriers to delegation that can cause CEOs and managers to hesitate. It is these barriers that need to be cleared to achieve more effective business processes overall.
1. Identify the tasks that can be delegated
Delegation should always begin with the simplest tasks and work its way upwards to the more complex ones. In a well-run business, every task is important — but some tasks are less complex than others.
A good candidate for delegation will be a task that is routine, repetitive, consistent, and teachable. This is a task that is easy to explain to an employee and that they have the skills and the capabilities to complete. This is also a task that does not change often and does not require any special access or permission to complete.
It isn’t always easy to identify a ‘simple’ task. For instance, there may be interactions with vendors that appear to be simple mechanically but would require your personal social interaction to complete. So before delegating, ask yourself whether an employee may encounter any roadblocks during the task that you yourself may not, such as not having in-depth knowledge of a customer or a business process. This doesn’t mean that the task can’t be delegated; it merely means that additional work may be needed.
2. Match the task to the employee
It is important that you hand over tasks to employees who have some level of competency within the area. As a leader, it is likely that you are handling many different tasks that utilise different skills, ranging from business knowledge to interpersonal communications.
So knowing your employees is the first step towards understanding which tasks they are best suited for — though you also shouldn’t hesitate to give a capable employee a chance at something that may be a little outside of their skill set.
When delegating, it often becomes the case that a CEO or manager will discover that one employee is highly competent. These are the employees that often begin to take on more delegated tasks and processes, and it should often be the goal of the leader to find these employees. Once you have found your highly competent individuals, you can then begin mentoring them into more advanced roles within your organisation.
3. Introducing the task to the employee
When an employee has a task delegated to them, it’s easy for the task to be seen as ‘more work.’ Framing the delegation appropriately can be the difference between an excited employee and a hesitant one.
A delegated task is not a punishment; it is an opportunity for growth and development. If the employee does well at the task, they should be able to grow with the company and eventually enhance their own responsibilities. This is something that is very important to modern employees, who are found to have an eye for consistent career advancement.
Employees should be made aware of the task itself and why you chose them for the task — this is in addition to the skills and experience that make them an ideal candidate. Through this, the employee will be aware that you are looking at their performance and paying attention to their own career goals. They will have more motivation to not only complete the task in a timely fashion but also to do their best at it.
If the task relates to a vendor, customer, or other individual, introductions should be made at this time so that the delegation will flow smoothly.
4. Provide instructions
It’s easy to become an indispensable resource over time simply because others would not know exactly what you did or how it was done. The difference between a successful delegation and a failed delegation often comes down to documentation.
It can be easy to become frustrated about things that you believe ‘anyone should know’, and it can be easy for an employee to become frustrated that they are expected to ‘read your mind’. Giving clear instructions from the outset bypasses these potential issues.
More importantly, documentation is an investment; it can be used when these tasks are delegated in the future and ensures that you are not burdened by ‘hit by a truck’ scenarios.
In addition to providing clear instructions, it may be necessary to complete the job with an employee a few times. When the task is finally handed over, the employee must be clear regarding the desired results of the task and when it needs to be completed by.
Not only will this take a burden off you as the leader, it will also empower your employees to take ownership and initiative. This is further discussed in “How to create a culture of accountability“ by the established business leader and HR professional Trudy MacDonald.
Delegation is a skill, and it’s a skill that will serve a leader for some time to come. The best leaders are the ones that are most effective at delegating; they trust their employees can handle the day-to-day operations fully while they’re focusing on the bigger picture.
You can master your delegation skills through practice, experience, and mentorship. TEC gives you access to experienced, successful leaders, with which you can discuss the art of delegation and the process of integrating delegation effectively into your business culture. Contact TEC today to find out more.
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