After many years of business coaching in Vancouver, one of the most important skills we teach our clients is how to delegate effectively. Delegation is a critical management skill, but some people find it hard to put into practice in the office.
Many managers may shy away from delegating because:
- They don’t want to add more to an employees plate
- They may lack confidence in who they should delegate to
- They’d just rather do the task themselves.
Whatever the reason is, it is important to learn this skill as shying away from delegating tasks can have negative consequences on production.
9 delagation tips for managers and owners
Knowing what to delegate
Not every task throughout your offices operation can be delegated and there are many things managers and owners need to do themselves, such as performance reviews or personal matters. The other day to day tasks don’t normally require upper management oversight. When it comes to delegating throughout the office, as yourself the following questions: Is there a task that you normally do yourself even though you know you have someone on your team who is more than capable? Would assigning tasks to other employees make the office run smoother and also further their careers? If the answer to those questions is yes, then it’s time to delegate. It will show your team that you value and trust them, while also giving yourself more time to focus on other projects.
Playing to Employees’ Strengths and Goals
Every valuable employee will have their own goals that they are working towards in their career, so use those goals as opportunities to delegate. A great example is, you have an employee who wants to move up into a management position. Look for an intern or other employee that they can begin to supervise, or find them a more important project that they can take lead on.
Don’t send them in blind
Delegating doesn’t mean just dumping work onto someone else’s plate and walking away. When delegating a task make sure that it comes with proper context and a clear tie into the projects goals.
Before any employee begins work on a project, they should know exactly what they need to complete and the deadline of the task.
Don’t set them up to fail
As a manager or owner, it is your responsibility to ensure that the person you are delegating work to has all the training they require, resources they may need, or the proper authority to make decisions. Setting someone up to fail will effect all sides, the task won’t get completed and the employee’s self esteem will take a hit, and you are now left to finish the project yourself.
Communication is key
You never want to micromanage, but you also want to make sure the employee you are delegating to is comfortable and not afraid to ask questions and is comfortable providing progress updates on the project. When the project is beginning, plan out regular check-ins and answer any questions and provide feedback whenever necessary.
Patience
As a manager or owner, you will of course have more years of experience than most of your employees. This of course means that you can complete most tasks more quickly than an employee.
Because of this you might be tempted to do the task yourself instead of delegating as you know it will get done faster, business coaching in Vancouver will tell you it is important to be patient with your employees. Think about the first time you completed a specific task when you were early in your career, and you’ll realize you weren’t even close to completing the task as quickly as you do now.
As you delegate tasks to your employees more often the more familiar they will become with the, and you will begin to notice them getting quicker over time.
Credit and recognition
When you have delegated a task to an employee and it has been completed perfectly, make sure you recognize this and give them credit and positive feedback. The more you give recognition to the people you have delegated to, the more likely they’ll be eager to help with future projects.
In Conclusion
As you’ve read above, learning how to delegate is such a critical task to master, and if you’re interested in learning more about how to do this then you may want to look into business coaching in Vancouver. Contact us today to book a consultation.
