Delegation skill is one of the most underrated management competencies. Such a shame really, as effective delegation is the key to prevent work overload.
The skill itself isn’t exactly rocket science, but it is developed through regular practice and it requires some time for adjustment.
You have to be aware of the fact that there’s only so many hours in a day, so many hands on your body and only one head. Whether you like it or not, the amount of things you can achieve during the course of one day is limited. Even if you’re a business superstar, you need assistance. In fact, you must remember that success is never created by a single hand. No matter how big or small impact other people made, you should acknowledge the power of teamwork.
Why Some Managers Don’t Delegate
First, it’s important we address why people avoid delegating. It seems like (almost) every manager’s motto is “If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself,” but that’s just the right excuse. Yes, you’ll have some extra work at first, as you’ll have to explain in detail what you need to be done, but getting the burden off your back will make your work easier in the long run.
Let’s say there’s a 3000 word-long content for your website next on a to-do list with a bunch of tasks waiting after that. Sure, you’ve written around 1000 articles before you became a manager, and it’s something you’re good at, but you have other subordinate content writers that you could instruct on doing this task, while you focus on some other assignments in need of your management skills.
They might not have done exactly the same type of tasks before, but that’s why you’re here – to give them instructions on how to deliver the job while maintaining a high standard. While you’re making sure the work gets done at the appropriate level, you’re also building your team’s skills and capability. As already mentioned, success is created by a team, not an individual, so empowering them with better skills is the necessary step towards business growth.
Surely, mistakes ought to happen every now and then. But that’s just a part of a learning process. It’s worth spending more time initially to let a worker figure it out with or without your instructions because that’s exactly how you’re making a team more capable. Of course, this doesn’t mean giving out your most important task away to the most junior position, but you should pick out assignments which can be entrusted to others. Remember, you were once in their shoes, and somebody delegated their tasks to you.
How To Delegate Effectively
Analyze Your To-Do List
First of all, you need a clear vision of your always-increasing workload. Analyze and prioritize those tasks, and see what can be delegated. Employee time management tools have proven quite useful here, as keeping track of your everyday line of work can help you identify what takes up too much of your precious time.
Bet Bottom Dollar on Your Team
So, you’ve delegated the task to your team members. The next step is to stop biting your nails and start trusting them. Trust goes a long way when it comes to empowerment. If you already made sure to give them clear instructions (and hopefully you weren’t trying to micromanage their every single step) it’s time for you to relax and focus on other important assignments. When you show faith in their work by not bothering them with every tiny detail, your team members are motivated to try harder and rise up to your expectations.
Track Work
This is the last step in delegating. Of course, you don’t want to micromanage, as that’s simply not going to give you any positive results. However, you have to check on your team’s progress every once in a while. This is a time when using different time tracker PC solutions, such as time and attendance tracking software, can prove to be quite fruitful.
First of all, such a trackwork tool shows tasks and projects that employees are working on in real-time. As an example, Workpuls time tracking trackwork tool shows tasks and projects that employees are working on in real-time. Time tracker also shows productivity estimation, based on activity and time spent on tasks, so you can identify who struggles with the certain delegated task.
What’s more, you can use that data gathered by time tracker to create detailed performance reports. It’s important to give your employees feedback on the work they did on your precious delegated tasks. Give praise for a job well done, and constructive advice where you see room for improvement. Make sure to give specific feedback on how they can improve their performance, and not a critique. You want to empower them to be better.
It’s important to address the need for transparency when implementing employee time clock app within your team. All employees dread from micromanagement, and for a good reason. There aren’t many things that kill motivation as much as being constantly under supervision. And that’s the main thing workers fear when they hear “time tracker.”
You need to be clear on time tracking reasons. Show them your goal isn’t to micromanage but manage – period. You’re gathering data to make sure they’re performing well, and to help them deal with problems as they come up.
Final Thoughts
John C. Maxwell said, “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” Let your team take off some of the workloads from your back, and achieve your business goals together.