Sharpen your delegation skills

, April 5, 2013, 0 Comments

A manager’s toolkit must include the skill of ‘delegation’. Delegation requires a manager to be self-aware, be cognizant of the team members’ skill/capability both of which are vital to achieving the client/business needs.

Delegation is the opposite of micromanagement. We discussed the pitfalls of working with a micromanager and even being a micromanager.

Why doesn’t a manager delegate easily? Because the manager…

  1. Fears losing control
  2. Fears the outcome may actually be better than expected and that hurts the ego
  3. Feels he/she can do the job better than the team member
  4. Doesn’t understand the art of delegation
  5. Enjoys stress and working 20 hour days!
  6. Loves the limelight and cannot share…

Whichever answer you choose… It’s RIGHT but WRONG!! You know what I mean?!

The beauty of delegation is:

A- Having more time for you and what’s wrong with that?  You get to think and sort out other pressing matters
B- You practise a time management skill. Of the four Ds you practise one which is D for delegation (read about the other three Ds here)
C- You use your team member’s skill. The outcome- you have a great output and he/she is happy.
D – You build skills which help in succession planning

Some tips to sharpen your delegation skills:-

1-    If you feel a team member is unable to do the job then send them for an up skilling course. Don’t micromanage
2-    If you don’t know ‘how to delegate’ then sign up for a course
3-    Don’t fear delegating without trying first
4-    By delegating, you will only inspire more people and engage with them
5-    At the end of the day at work, it is all about meeting and exceeding your KPIs and that cannot happen when you do everyone else’s work. So
delegate…
6-    It is very important to learn to delegate for your sanity and that of your employees. There are only advantages when you delegate.

Can you delegate?