How to Delegate Effectively

Good leaders delegate duties to employees to maximize the productivity of the organization. Delegation of responsibilities also relieves off large workloads from managers. The challenge comes in when you are delegating tasks to a large workforce. Managers should use several approaches to make delegation more manageable and effective.
The following are tips to be applied by managers to make delegation of duty easier and effective:

1. Take it easy and let go of some workload.
Most managers find it hard to give away some of their duties to intermediate employees. They fear that no other person has the same skills as them. However, learn to delegate responsibilities by starting with small tasks and gradually increasing the commissioned workload.

2. Create a priority system to determine how you will delegate tasks.
Managers should develop a priority system to use while delegating tasks. The tasks should be in four categories. The first category should have simple tasks, and the rest categories should have jobs whose level of difficulty is progressing such that the fourth category will have the most difficult tasks. Managers should first delegate the first category, simple tasks requiring low skills, followed by second and third categories. The highest skilled category, the fourth category, should contain difficult tasks that should remain on the manager’s plate.

3. Delegate tasks depending on workers’ strengths.
When delegating tasks to your team, consider an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Workers have different skills and potentials; hence, they should get jobs that match their skills. Leaders should avoid delegating work to employees with the lightest workload but assign tasks to employees who have the relevant skill to complete the task. Consistency is vital in delegating duties. Assign the same type of work to the same individual to increase their aptitude in that type of job.

4. Accompany tasks with instructions.
No matter how comfortable an employee is with the work, there should always be instructions to complete the tasks. The instructions should include set deadlines and milestones. Instructions contain relevant information that helps bridge communication gaps, hence executing the job effectively.

5. Impart new skills to your team.
The team should get new skills to ensure that they can be able to attend to any task. Training of relevant skills may help find a remedy for employees’ weaknesses in performing specific jobs.

6. Trust your team.
Delegation of tasks requires managers to trust their teams to carry tasks at their best level. However, managers should still verify the progress of the job.

7. Emphasize regular feedback.
Feedback allows managers to commend their workers for a job well done, and at the same time, give constructive criticism on tasks that have fallen short. Managers should also invite workers to provide their thoughts on the delegated work to know whether they provide adequate instructions and time.

Delegation is a skill that modern leaders should learn and improve daily. The process is not always perfect, but leaders improve as time goes. Learn from experiences in the areas to improve and adjust.

Originally published to rogerblakemd.net.