How-To Delegate Effectively at Work

Many business leaders hesitate when delegating tasks. After all, they can get the job done right, the first time (or so they think). However, delegating can bring in new valuable perspectives and an increased productivity for the company.

Delegation in the workplace today is largely lacking and the result is insufficient communication and a general absence of positive morale. If you find yourself in a position of leadership or management, delegating work to others not only reduces your workload, but does wonders for your colleagues and the company as well.

The Foundation

If you’re going to effectively delegate work and responsibilities to others, there are some key dynamics that must be present in an organization to begin with. If any of the following are absent, effective delegation doesn’t stand a chance.

Communication

Every employee on a team or in an organization must clearly understand what is expected and what the objectives are. It rests on your shoulders to make sure that core values, policies and expectations are clearly understood by everyone involved.

Trust

If you don’t fully trust your co-workers or they don’t trust you, you’re in for an uphill battle. While trust takes time to build, it’s hard to win back once it’s broken. In order to achieve maximum productivity while maintaining high morale, trust is a must.

Honesty and Respect

The relationships between everyone involved must be built on honesty and respect. We all are prone to mistakes occasionally, but if those mistakes are dealt with in an honest and respectful manner, everybody wins. You’re in trouble though if there is deceit or lack of respect.

If you feel your work environment is healthy for everyone involved, you’re in a fortunate spot where delegating can really do wonders. Now it’s up to you to get to work. Below are some tangible benefits that proper delegation brings to all parties.

The Opportunity to Train and Grow

As a leader, it’s your job to identify opportunities for everyone on your team to learn and become better. If you’re actively seeking out these opportunities there will be tasks and responsibilities that you can delegate to others. With the right encouragement and training along the way, most employees will jump at the opportunity to make a greater contribution. This can also help to retain your employees since they are feeling challenged.

Weaknesses Become Strengths and Strengths Become Stronger

You’re probably already doing a great job of identifying the strengths of your employees. And maybe you’ve already given them added responsibilities that align with those strengths. Some of the greatest opportunities for growth though, come from identifying weaknesses and giving an individual added responsibility where they need growth. This might seem terrifying to both you and the employee at first, but with the proper guidance and feedback along the way, the employee and your organization can experience tremendous growth and empowerment.

Delegate Toward a Goal

Delegating the occasional task here and there is great. For a short time, you feel relieved and the person you delegated to feels appreciated. But if you take this a step further and align delegated tasks with a greater goal or objective, everyone can be committed to the process. When everyone works together on a project from its infancy to the final product, the sense of accomplishment is infectious. If this process of delegation becomes a regular occurrence, your employees are sure to remain hungry and keep coming back for more.

Never Lose Your Identity

Successful companies all have core values that govern everything they do. Delegating is the perfect time to not only reinforce core values, but to demonstrate how each and every task at hand reflects and promotes what you’re about. When everyone can see your “WHY” in the work they do, it reinforces that they are part of something bigger than themselves.

Cross-Delegation

Different departments within organizations see things differently. The classic case is the rift between sales and production where there is often disconnect and misunderstanding. A great way to bridge the gap between any subsets in a team or company is to delegate tasks that require collaboration. While there is sure to be some angst, it’s up to everyone to find a way to get the job done. Collaboration provides broad insights that garner respect and understanding between departments that don’t necessarily work alongside each other on a daily basis.

Always Celebrate Success

When an important project is finished and meets or exceeds goals, is profitable, aligns people around shared values and creates momentum, it deserves to be recognized and celebrated. Whether it’s a simple catered lunch on the company dime or a trip to a sunny destination, recognizing the hard work and success of the people that made it all happen is essential and sets you up for continued success in the future.

If you are a business leader and find yourself overwhelmed, it might be worth taking a step back and evaluating the foundation of communication, trust, honesty and respect. It very well could be that there are some fundamental issues that can be resolved with collective input and discussion. If all the dynamics are in sync, you’re in a great spot to spread responsibility, help each individual grow and realize success that you never thought was attainable. It’s at this point that the hard work becomes fun for everyone.