Do you ever feel like you are drowning at work? Increase engagement, creativity, and innovation for yourself and your team by learning how to delegate effectively. Here are a few thoughts on one of my most frequently asked questions, “How can I delegate effectively?”
Delegate Effectively: When & What
Benefits when you delegate effectively:
- Your workload becomes more manageable.
- Creativity and innovation increase within your team.
- Employee engagement rises.
First of all, let’s understand that delegation is critically important, but it’s a skill that a lot of people never learn. I oftentimes say that delegation is the finest of the management arts and what I mean is this: you can get by without delegating, but you can go further with delegation.
When & What To Delegate Effectively
When to Delegate
People ask me so often, “When should I delegate?” Well, I don’t know that there is a perfect time to delegate, but I do know that when there are changes within the workplace, somebody either comes or somebody leaves, then there is an opportunity for the leader to effectively delegate. Use this opportunity as a training tool. Your people can learn new things, cross-train, and become a more integral part of the team with their newfound skill set and knowledge from the tasks you’ve delegated to them.
What To Delegate
A lot of leaders and managers have gotten a bad rap, in some cases appropriately. Those leaders delegate, quite frankly, the crappy jobs. They just want to give away the things they don’t enjoy to somebody else. Well, the reality is this: it doesn’t take long for someone to learn that the only delegation that you’re doing is something that you don’t want to do or think you’re above doing. This will cause disengagement within your team. There are times when you need to give away jobs…even when they are crappy. There’s no question about that, but the best results from delegation come when we’re giving people the opportunity to do something that is fun, that is valuable, that is high profile. Because, in that activity, they start to see that you trust them beyond what maybe they would have even trusted themselves. (For more on principles of good leadership, check out Principles of Leadership: What Are You Building On? )
Two big takeaways today: 1) When there are changes in the workplace, use this as an opportunity to delegate effectively and further develop your team. 2) Delegate tasks that will be fun, valuable, and high profile.
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