Today, I’m known as the queen delegator.
I’m known for saying, “YES!” and figuring out who knows how – essentially, I’ll agree to deals and projects, and find who on my team can get it done.
It’s AWESOME 😉
But this was one of the biggest skills I had to develop as a young entrepreneur – the art of delegation.
One of the keys to being a good leader is knowing when to hand off some of your responsibilities to a team member. This is the art of delegation.
However, while the premise can seem simple enough and it’s certainly an attractive prospect, there are some common mistakes you’ll want to avoid in order to get the most from your delegating.
You simply can’t expect that your delegating efforts will go well if you aren’t positive that you and your employee are on the same page. Even your most competent subordinate isn’t a mind reader, so before you hand over a task to them, be sure they understand not just what it entails, but what a successful outcome will look like.
Delegating often gets a bad name because many people see it as a way to simply shirk responsibility.
Unfortunately, they’re often right.
Other times, you can’t blame them for having that perspective, even though they may be mistaken.
So here’s the key: Successful delegating doesn’t mean handing over a job to someone and then checking in when it’s all over. You need to monitor constantly to ensure progress is headed in the right direction. Even with this added work, delegation will save you substantial time in the long run.
Many people hit the other extreme when it comes to their delegating mistakes. They delegate a task, but never really let it go. In the end, they can actually end up creating more work for themselves because they’re still handling the responsibility as well as micromanaging. No one is better off with this type of arrangement.
Don’t delegate to someone who isn’t ready, either. In a pinch, it can be tempting to do so, but you’ll end up with subpar results and a potentially trying experience altogether.
Other times, you may consider delegating as a way to test an employee’s current abilities. Instead, have them observe a more qualified candidate when you delegate to them and find other ways of testing their competence in the meantime. Delegating is only to be done with those people you know can succeed.
Lastly, one of the biggest mistakes people make where delegating is concerned is simply not doing it. It can be helpful to delegate tasks even when you don’t need to. This way your staff gets the practice they need so they’ll achieve when the chips are down. Plus, the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become with the process, as well.
When done right, delegating can be one of your best friends. However, when done wrong (or not at all), you’ll wind up paying for it. So consider the above mistakes people commonly make to get more from your delegating.
