Successful Leaders Excel In The Art of Delegation
My favourite sport is football and it has taught me a lot about managing teams.
Each member of the football team is given, or delegated, a task to perform. When you watch the game and see how the team performs its given tasks, it looks incredibly easy. But it isn’t.
To be effective, each team member must know exactly what is expected of them.
Delegating at the workplace is very much like that. Successful leaders know this and do it very well. Many of them became successful because they have figured out the art of delegation.
Its not just about asking or telling someone to do something. Anyone can do that. But extraordinary leaders do much more; they provide excellent guidance to ensure that the outcome always acheives its objectives.
As a leader, delegating is important because you can’t and shouldn’t do everything yourself. Just like a football coach, you will need to be on the sidelines and be confident your team will deliver the results. Delegation empowers your team, builds trust, and assists in their professional development.
Do these 4 things to delegate confidently:
Clarify the purpose of the task - always start with why. Describe the context and why the task is so important to the business. People perform better when they have a clarity of purpose because they will know exactly what is expected of them.
Describe exactly what a successful outcome looks like - explain in simple terms what you would like to see being accomplished. Allow them to ask questions. When both of you are on the same page at the very beginning, it will prevent misunderstandings later, for example, "oh I didn't know that is what you meant. I thought you wanted it like this".
Discuss and agree on a deadline for the task to be completed - this may seem pretty straighforward, but it isn't. Be reasonable with the deadlines and ask your team members if they are fine with the time given to complete the task. They must be comfortable with the expectation. You may have to be flexible and be prepared to negotiate as well.
Use your experience and provide guidance on how to go about the task. Sometimes, you may think it would be easier if you did it yourself. Don't do that. Your role is to nurture and grow your team. Share with them your knowledge and experience. Coach them and encourage them to apply their own mind to the task as well.
When you do the above well, you will be able to delegate confidently. This is a sign of a successful leader. Make sure that you have another chat after completion of the task to review the results. A task done well should be recognised and if its not done well, help the team member improve with constructive feedback.
Your job, as a leader, is to help your team member be a better version of their current self.