Why delegation skills are important: The benefits of delegation
The first time you start delegating something, you can:
- you focus on the right things;
- you focus on doing things right;
- to encourage students to develop and take on more responsibility;
- to take on more responsibility and encourage yourself to develop (probably those new tasks you are dealing with are delegated by someone else, it is a chain of growth)
- to be a mentor/ guide/ teacher to others.
None of us do things right the first time, we try and fail, and we learn until we succeed.
We didn’t know everything, and we need to understand that when we delegate. It is important to know that delegation can be learned and practiced.
Effective Delegation Skills: How to Delegate Successfully as a Leader
To improve your delegation skills and success, you will need to:
1. Understand what you are delegating and what can be delegated.
Not all tasks or things can be delegated, you will need to review your activities and identify which can be delegated in the sorting term and which are likely to require more time and/or preparation to delegate.
2. Identify who can take on that responsibility, or WHO has notified you that they are interested in taking on more tasks.
Consider the preparation, skills, and time others will need to successfully complete those tasks. It is likely that some members are more than ready, but others will need mentoring or training until they can do it on their own.
3. Don’t be afraid to set some “rules” or guidelines that will avoid rework and mismatched expectations on both sides.
Providing support on your side will be seen as confidence, trust and using experience both ways.
Be transparent about what needs to be done and when it needs to be delivered, they can probably manage it the way they want.
If everyone sees and understands why that task is important to achieve, everyone will be aligned with the final result and delivery.
4. Be present to resolve any doubt, support or communication others may need
Feedback on the process is crucial so that others can apply it and improve upon it if they fail
5. Thank whoever takes on the task.
It’s not always easy, and not everyone raises their hand to take on more responsibility or share that they’re willing to develop, so if you trust others to do those tasks, thank them when they complete it, show them around, and provide feedback on what can be improved for next time.
You are guided by the fact that others need to be trained, prepared and cared for, you need to share that security, trust and confidence in order to progress and grow together.
What can be delegated?
We have already covered the importance of delegation and some steps on how to delegate, now let’s check what can be delegated.
So we could make a list or easily identify what can be delegated, but ultimately it will depend on the maturity level of you, your team, the complexity of the tasks and the impact they will have on others.
If there’s a task that’s small, interesting, kind of repetitive, it’s probably a task you can easily delegate.
On the other hand, if there is a task that you don’t feel passionate about doing, but you can identify others who are motivated and interested in doing it, you can delegate it.
The key is always not necessarily identifying which tasks to delegate, but rather identifying who to delegate to and setting the time for everyone to prepare for the change in responsibilities.
Delegation does not necessarily mean autonomy, autonomy is not free will, so it is important to set guidelines or an understanding of what is necessary and necessary to do.
