Effective Delegation

The Golden Rules of Delegating Effectively

Delegating may sound easy to do, but it can give your leadership skills a bad image when done wrong. Assigning tasks and projects will illustrate the strengths and skills of your team if successfully done.
To be an effective delegator, there are golden rules to follow.

1. Clarify the tasks in your mind and develop a plan to take. But how do you clarify tasks in your head? Ask yourself these questions: What is there to do? Who has the skills to do it? When is it expected to be finished? Furthermore, what is the desired result? These inquiries assist to clarify crucial details of the tasks you’re about to assign. Not thinking of the what’s, when’s, who’s and how’s of the task might complicate things both for you and the staff.

2. Delegate to the correct person. How do you know the person is right for the assignment? Evaluate the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Know their skills and knowledge. The correct individual ought to have the right stuff to make it much easier to complete the task.

3. Never forget to set a deadline. Tasks gets to be put aside or even forgotten without a deadline. The deadline you should be giving has to be demanding and reasonable. Often, even though the task is needed on a certain day, it is best to give them a much earlier deadline to assess whether they can fulfill the challenge or not. Giving a much earlier deadline compared to the actual deadline often help you search for replacements.

4. It is frequently noticed that people are only communicating their plans either orally or in writing, rather than doing both. Take note that plans should be discussed both orally and in writing. You and the selected individual should understand each other about the job that needs to be done. And that strategy, written and discussed, is proof that you and the person you appointed are on the same page.

5. Give praise and feedback at the end of every project. Once the tasks and assigned responsibilities are done, provide feedback on how they performed. Praise them for what they’ve done well, and then give criticisms on what they can improve. You are playing the role of their mentor at this stage. Never shout or threaten them when they fail at a task. Educate them on potential skills they should build or develop in the future.

Two things should also be kept in mind when delegating. First is to never be a perfectionist. Don’t be considered a micromanager, who wants tasks to be executed in a way they want. Being a perfectionist won’t get things done, nor will the team benefit from having such a burden. Another is to respect them. You may be the one who assigns tasks, but in some areas their expertise are better than yours. Setting high standards and goals are fine when delegating, but always remember to keep them valued.