Whether they are purposely using this tool or it has become an ingrained subconscious habit, successful people effectively DELEGATE! Learn to teach, delegate and trust the process. It is well worth the investment!
Getting things done through others is one of the most fundamental time management tools that exist. If you want to live a fulfilling life, you need to free-up some physical and emotional energy to pursue the things that matter most to you.
3 reasons why people do not delegate
- Short-term thinking - It would be quicker to do it myself
- Perfectionist thinking - I can do it better myself
- Requires an investment in training/mentoring - I don't have anyone I can trust to delegate it to
If you answer "yes", you need to learn to delegate ...
- Most nights and weekends I take work home
- It always seems like I have more to do than my subordinates
- I do not have time to do much planning
- I have problems meeting deadlines
- I am a perfectionist and pride myself in doing everything perfectly
- I wish I had more time for family, recreation and vacations
- I rarely ask for opinions from subordinates
- I have difficulty trusting subordinates to do things right
- It is hard for me to accept ideas from others
- I secretly feel that letting go of tasks makes me less important and/or that I have less of a handle on things
Think of delegating in this way - by allowing others to learn and take charge, and for you to learn to trust people, you can generate some incredible learning and advancement opportunities for individuals with less knowledge and skill, while maximizing your productivity and job satisfaction.
Success does not just add to your achievements, it multiplies them. The absence of effective delegation will slow down your progress faster than anything else. If you want to leverage your time, delegation is essential. It is called letting-go!
Look at your current responsibilities and identify what you are most passionate about and what you are best at doing. For all of those items that are not on this list, decide what you can drop alltogether and what you can delegate.
Work should always be done by the lowest competent level
In other words, you should ask yourself with every project:
- Does this really need to be completed by me? If not, then who?
- Determine the next level down and ask the same question
- Continue going down the ranks of those over which you have authority to delegate until you stop at the individual who is the lowest, but is still able to handle that particular task
To-do list for delegation
- Select the right person for the job
- Start with small tasks and build up to larger ones as the person develops their skills
- Provide enough information
- Delegate the entire job and give the person full authority
- Focus on the results, not the process
- Delegate through dialogue
- Establish deadlines and accountability
- Establish follow-up dates
- Give positive and corrective feedback
- Provide the necessary resources
- Offer guidance and advice without interfering
- Establish parameters, conditions and terms up-front
- Provide back-up and support as necessary
- Once the project is completed, give full credit and recognition to the person who gets the job done
If the delegate is unsuccessful
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Take the brunt of the blame yourself rather than using them as a scapegoat
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Learn from the experience so you can delegate more effectively
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Provide more training
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Delegate the next project to a different person