Introduction
Delegation is a critical skill for small businesses. It’s also one of the most challenging management activities to master. But with the right approach, you can make delegation work for you and your team. In this article, we’ll outline how you can get started with delegation in your organization—from setting clear expectations to monitoring progress and providing feedback.
I. Why Delegate?
Delegation is an effective way to share responsibility. It’s also a way to get more done, free up time for other tasks, build trust and confidence in your team members’ abilities to do their jobs well and make sure all of your responsibilities are covered. Delegation requires you as the manager or owner of a small business to trust people who work for you—and vice versa. However, it’s an essential component of any successful organization because it allows everyone involved in running that company (including yourself) to take on more roles than they would otherwise be able to handle alone.
II. Benefits of Delegating
- You can focus on the things you enjoy most.
- Your team members will develop their own skills and become more productive.
- You’ll have more time to spend with your family and friends.
The more you can focus on the things that matter to you, the happier and more successful you will be.
Of course, it’s not easy to focus on the important things. There are always distractions vying for your attention—email notifications, news stories, social media updates—you name it.
III. Mindset Required for Delegation
- Delegation requires a mindset change.
In order to be successful at delegation, you need to have the right mindset. This means that you need to trust your team and be able to let go of control, the outcome, and even the credit for a job well done (if it was delegated). In other words: You must be willing to allow others’ ideas and opinions into the mix without feeling threatened by them or worried about losing your authority over things like decisions made by employees who are not part of senior management or high-level projects that require input from multiple departments across an organization. It’s important for managers who do not have experience delegating work to understand how essential this mental shift can be—and why many people struggle with it initially when they first try their hand at delegating tasks outside their usual scope!
Delegation can be a bit of an art form. You have to be able to trust that the person you are delegating tasks or projects to is capable, reliable and motivated enough to get the job done well. If you don’t know them well enough yet for this trust to be automatic, then start small: delegate one task at first, see how it goes and build on that experience as you go forward.
You also need to be able to accept that the person you delegate tasks to may not do things exactly as you would have done them yourself, and this can be a challenge for many people because it means relinquishing some control over outcomes. But remember: delegating tasks is not about making sure the work is done exactly how YOU would have done it; rather, it’s about freeing up time so that YOU can focus on other high-level responsibilities and projects!
If you are the type of person who likes to be hands-on in everything that is done for your organization, then delegation may not come naturally. But if you want to be able to create more results and accomplish bigger goals, delegating tasks will help you do that.
IV. Communication Skills Required for Delegation
- Clear communication: Communication is the key to successful delegation. You must be clear about what you expect from your team members, and you should communicate this both verbally and in writing. Make sure that everyone understands what is expected of them, as well as their responsibilities, accountabilities, and deadlines.
- Listening skills: When delegating tasks or projects to others, it’s important that you listen carefully so that you can gain a better understanding of their needs or concerns before providing feedback or direction on how best for them to proceed with completing their task(s).
- Asking questions: Asking questions will help ensure that everyone involved in the process understands exactly what needs doing before they begin working on something new. However, it’s also important not to ask too many questions at once, as this can lead to confusion and frustration. Instead of bombarding someone with questions, try asking one question at a time so that you can get a clear understanding of what is required before moving on to the next one.
V. Principles for Successful Delegation
Delegation is not abdication. You are still responsible for the work that your team does, even if you’re not doing it yourself.
Delegation is a process, not an event. It doesn’t happen overnight—it’s something you need to practice over time. Consistent practice will help you get better at delegating effectively and efficiently without losing control of your business or missing out on important information or opportunities that come up along the way.
Delegation is about trust and responsibility: trust between leaders and their teams, but also trust within each individual member of a team (and between members). When people feel like they have autonomy and freedom within their roles, they’re more likely to take ownership over what they do rather than waiting around for instructions from above before moving forward with something new or different—and this can lead directly towards innovation!
The key is to give your team members the freedom and flexibility they need to do their jobs without micromanaging them. This will allow you to focus on other aspects of running a business, as well as make sure that everyone is working towards your company’s goals.
VII. Determining the Tasks Needed for Delegation
The first step in delegation is identifying what tasks need to be delegated. You should start by making a list of all the tasks that your company currently performs and then rank them in order of importance, with 1 being the most important and 5 being the least important.
Next, determine which tasks can be delegated and which cannot be delegated based on their ranking on the list above (1s are always delegated). It is also important to note whether or not any specific skills are required for each task so that you can determine who has those skills when choosing who will perform them.
The next step is determining how long each individual task takes from start to finish; this includes both actual time spent working as well as preparation beforehand (such as purchasing supplies). This information will help you identify how much time each employee needs to complete his/her responsibilities without having too much leftover work at any given point during his/her shift—which could lead to burnout if left unchecked!
The last thing you need to do is make sure that your employees have all of the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. This includes everything from supplies and equipment to uniforms. If you don’t have all of these things, then it’s time to start looking for them.
VIII. Monitoring Progress
It is important to monitor progress on a project. This can be done through weekly meetings with the team members, checklists, and spreadsheets. You can also ask for status updates from your employees throughout the week.
If you have a project manager who is responsible for overseeing the project, they should also be involved in the status meetings. This will help ensure that all important information is being shared, and no one is left out of the loop.
IX. Giving Feedback
- Provide positive feedback.
- Give constructive feedback.
- Provide feedback in a timely manner.
- Give feedback as soon as possible, and don’t wait until the end of an employee’s performance review period to do so. This can be demotivating and demoralizing for the employee if they are not receiving praise along with their criticism (or vice versa).
- Provide private meetings for your employees whenever possible, especially when giving negative feedback about something they’ve done wrong or could improve on in future projects or tasks delegated to them by you as their manager/supervisor/team leader etc. This way, both parties will feel more comfortable talking openly about these topics without feeling embarrassed or ashamed about what happened during whatever project was being discussed. However, if privacy isn’t feasible due to time constraints, then consider asking someone else from another department who knows nothing about either party involved beforehand before going ahead anyways. Otherwise, it might seem like favoritism towards one person over another—and nobody wants that!
In general, it’s always helpful to have a third-party present when giving negative feedback about an employee’s performance review period so that they can act as a mediator between you and the employee if things get heated or emotional. However, this isn’t typically necessary for positive feedback because most people will be happy about receiving praise for something they’ve done well—especially if it was their first time doing so.
The key to successful delegation is to set clear expectations with your team members, monitor their progress and provide clear feedback throughout their work on a project.
The key to successful delegation is to set clear expectations with your team members, monitor their progress and provide clear feedback throughout their work on a project.
- Set Clear Expectations: Before you can ask someone else to do something for you, it’s important that they understand what is expected of them. In order for this process to work effectively, it’s important that both parties are on the same page regarding deadlines and deliverables. For example: “I need this report by Friday afternoon so we can review it before our meeting next week.” Or if there were no specific deadlines: “Please let me know when the report is complete so we can review it before our meeting next week.”
- Monitor Progress: While monitoring progress may seem like common sense—and indeed most people would agree that doing so is necessary—the fact remains that many managers don’t actually do this effectively enough (if at all). This means there could be some serious issues down the line if left unchecked; such as missed deadlines or poor-quality work due solely to lack of communication between the manager and employee(s). If possible, try using tools like Basecamp or Trello which allow users track tasks in real time across multiple projects simultaneously, while also providing updates via email alerts when changes occur within those projects’ respective timelines!
This is a great way to ensure that you’re not only continually keeping tabs on your employees’ progress but also giving them the opportunity to ask questions if they need clarification on something.
Conclusion
Delegation is an important part of being a manager or business owner, but it can be a challenge to get right. If you’re not careful, delegating tasks can lead to delays in production and other problems that affect your bottom line. By following the tips in this article, you’ll be able to delegate tasks effectively and avoid common pitfalls like micromanaging or under-staffing projects.
