To delegate tasks to your employees might sound easy, but it’s not the same as passing the baton. It requires coordination, communication, and trust. As a team leader, delegating is crucial to your job. When you delegate, it assists with professional development, builds employee morale, and empowers the team.
How to delegate tasks to your employees
As a leader, delegation allows you to determine who is best-suited to tackle a certain issue. If you want to ensure that you delegate tasks to your employees, the following tips will come in handy.
Choose the right person for the task
One thing to keep in mind when you delegate tasks to your employees is to choose the right person for the job. Being a good leader is all about having an understanding of your employee’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t delegate a task that requires a lot of collaboration to someone who prefers working alone.
If you have an employee who’s more into organizing, filing, and journaling than coming up with creative ideas, then he or she is ideal for operational functions. An employee who has a creative zing might be able to help in your marketing strategies.
Communicate the task when delegating
Provide employees with important information when they do the task. Don’t micromanage them or look for perfection. Communicate what needs to be done, your goals, and what they can help to achieve them. They should feel motivated and empowered to tackle the problem.
If you want the person whom you are delegating to take charge of the task, let them know why you believe they’re the right person for the job. Explain how it’s beneficial for the company and for them as well – a room for growth. Employees should be able to see hoe delegated tasks offer an opportunity for them to learn new skills and take more responsibility.
Provide training and resources
When you delegate tasks to your employees, don’t leave them hanging on their own. Make sure they are tasked with a job for which they have access to resources and tools. Provide the person with the right tools skills when getting the job done.
Give your team members a sense of purpose, a goal, or objective to accomplish. That way, they have a purpose, a meaning, and something to look forward to in your company. When we say employee growth, it doesn’t have to be a promotion or added job work, instead, you invite them to attend a training, seminar, or workshop to hone their skills.
Check up on employees and offer feedback, help, or suggestions
Avoid being that manager who delegates tasks your employees and blames them when things go wrong. Instead, you should check on employees to see if they have correctly completed their tasks. Provide feedback to allow them to improve their performance.
When your employees have done a good job, give them some recognition! That way, they feel appreciated, trusted, and valued. When employees feel this way, they develop more trust, self-esteem, and productivity. What’s more, they’ll tend to be more loyal and hardworking when the company faces a challenge or two.
When to delegate tasks to your employees?
Delegation, when done appropriately, will lead to a more productive workplace. But when to delegate tasks to your employees apart from their usual office routine?
Let’s say your company has a research deadline by next week or a newsletter project to be disseminated to the public. When to delegate it to your employees?
- When there’s someone else who has similar experience, skill, and knowledge to carry the task.
- When the person has skills but needs “room to grow” and the task allows that person to grow and hone his skills.
- If the task will occur regularly.
- If you don’t have enough to do it.
- If the task important for long-term success and your employees will be affected by it.
There are some factors to be considered when delegating tasks. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself.
- Do I still have time to do it?
- Is this task a high-risk importance for my business? Will there be consequences if I can’t do it in time?
- Can I still move the deadline?
- What are the quality standards of the job?
- Can I accept failure for not completing the job?
Key takeaways
Delegations at first glance can seem like more hassle than they are worth, but by efficiently delegating, you can greatly increase the amount of research you can do. Choose the proper tasks; identify the right individuals to delegate to, and delegate in the right way, to delegate effectively. That’s a lot to do, but if you delegate successfully, you are able to do so much more!
