One of the most essential skills that leaders need to develop is the art of delegation. Delegation may seem like a simple task, but effective delegation is far more complicated than many might imagine. Here are five tips for effective delegation as a leader.
- Don’t just delegate the most unpleasant tasks.
It is always important for leaders to remember that you need the help, support, and participation of those you lead. There is perhaps no surer way of losing that than to save all the cherry assignments for yourself and delegate all the unpleasant tasks or grunt work to your subordinates. That doesn’t mean you always need to do all of the unpleasant tasks yourself, but you should be doing your fair share (or more).
- Make sure the person you are delegating to understands the task, has the necessary tools or information to complete the job, and proper training.
There is a fine line between delegation and setting someone up for failure. While a few may rise to the occasion, more often than not, an employee that hasn’t been prepared to take on the task they are given will fail. Not only will this generally incur your disappointment, but it will also make them more hesitant in the future to take on new tasks or assignments.
- Make sure deadlines and expectations are clearly defined.
When you delegate a task but don’t give any indication of when the project should be completed, you create one of two problems: 1. The employee overworks themselves trying to get the task done as quickly as possible (sometimes leaving other, more important work undone in the process). 2. They miss a deadline they didn’t know they had. Your failure to communicate deadlines and expectations is also setting them up for failure.
- Let go.
When you delegate a task, you need to give the employee a certain amount of leeway to do it in their own time frame and in their own way. This is why it is so important to communicate deadlines and expectations upfront. Give them a framework to work within and then give them plenty of space to meet those expectations in their own way.