‘It’ll be quicker to do it myself’. Wrong! Successful leaders delegate, and so should you.
Beware. It’s tempting to think that by the time you’ve explained a task to someone else, you could have finished it yourself. Whenever you choose not to delegate, you’re missing an important opportunity to invest in both your staff and your business. The short-term investment that delegation involves will pay you back ten-fold.
Delegation – The Benefits
Whenever you delegate you’re investing in the future of your business. Not to mention, delegation is the best form of on-the-job training for your team. By delegating you demonstrate you trust your team’s ability and their capacity to contribute. There’s no better way to build staff morale than to specifically ask willing contributors to play their part, and to be thanked and praised for it. By delegating, you will free yourself up for the jobs that you most need your attention. It communicates expectations to your team which includes standards of excellence and customer care. It empowers those around you to set and achieve goals, and learn new skills. As a business owner, delegation provides you with greater personal freedom thanks to a workforce capable of managing tasks in your absence.
Failing to Delegate – The Consequences
As I mentioned above, when you don’t delegate you miss opportunities develop deeper and richer relationships with your staff. You add to your own ever-growing workload and put yourself under extra and unnecessary pressure. As a result, you’re less productive and you can lose clarity.
You’ve invested heavily in recruiting the right people. They’re valuable and willing – so put them to work. If you don’t use them, you’re depriving them of their purpose. Not to mention overlooking resources that are vital for your business growth. Apart from wasting talent and precious energy you also risk losing good staff to other employers who will provide them with opportunities for fulfilling career goals and ambitions.
Tips for Effective Delegation
It’s important to provide a solid brief with clear instructions.
What does the task involve? Who is it for? When is it due? What is the outcome? Why is it important? What is the broader context? Check for understanding – does your team member understand your instructions and expectations. For larger tasks, implement milestones. That is, check in every two hours on a job that’s expected to take 10 hours to monitor progress.
If you follow the principles of delegation: I do it – I show you – You show me – You do it – you’ll be well on your way to more time, a more productive business and very likely a happier workforce.
