As you undertake many responsibilities, it is often hard to find time to do everything. This is where delegating comes into play. The art of delegating is a mandatory skill to have as a manager. Delegating is important for both you and your employees. When you allow your team members to take a share of your tasks, you not only free up more time to focus on other important tasks but also even improve company morale. Your employees learn new skills and are given more responsibility thus increasing employee satisfaction. Here we compiled important things to keep in mind to efficiently delegate as a manager.
1. Delegate the appropriate tasks
Think about all the pending projects and the deadlines you have to meet. Of these tasks, are there any that can be done by other members of your team? The tasks that you choose to delegate should be ones that are not crucial for you to do. On the other hand, any projects that require a thorough understanding from you should not be delegated.
As an example, you cannot delegate the task of preparing a PowerPoint for meeting since you need to know the ins and outs of every single slide to communicate it effectively. Meanwhile, if it only requires knowing the brief overview of the numbers, the actual number crunching and data analysis can be done by one of your business analysts.
2. Delegate tasks to the appropriate person
Not every team member is the same when it comes to their abilities. Determine what commitment and skill sets are necessary for the task you want to delegate in order to find who would be a good fit. Measure the skills they already have and see if this new project will complement the rest of their work load. Don’t just pick someone who doesn’t look busy to complete these projects.
Another factor you may need to consider is whether the team members will have time for the task you are about to assign. Most likely they will already have a full schedule and will need to sacrifice other tasks as they prioritize their new task.
3. Train properly
It takes time to train someone thoroughly and to provide them with all the necessary resources. Think of training as an investment that will pay great dividends in terms of saved time. To properly train your team members, be patient and open to questions.
Keep in mind that they will not be as familiar as you are with this new project. Don’t be so critical with their initial mistakes. Finally, don’t expect them to exactly follow your precise steps – remember, you are training them to reach the goals, not the procedures of getting there.
4. Set deadlines for milestones
In order to ensure that the tasks are getting done properly, set deadlines for specific tasks. Have a few milestones they should meet prior to the actual deadline and check in with them as necessary. If it is an important task, make sure to set the deadline earlier than when it’s actually due so that you can review the work and give feedback. This way you can also fine-tune it to perfection before the hard deadline.
5. Show your appreciation
When they complete the projects or when they properly learn the tasks, make sure you thank them and show your appreciation. Acknowledge the importance of their help and show that you are grateful for what they did. You may even want to consider writing a recognition letter for their records.
Delegating is important to increase efficiency in your day as a manager. Keep these tips in mind next time you assign tasks to your team members.
