Top 5 Management Techniques – Delegation
We’ve previously discussed what your top five management techniques should be. This week we’re going to look at delegation in further detail.
We all know that a good manager does not do everything – instead, he or she manages the workload of others. That means you have to be prepared to let go of some tasks and delegate them to team members. This can seem difficult at first, especially if you’re new to managing others, but when done well it will improve the efficiency of your entire unit. Delegation, done properly, can empower your team and make productivity soar. Here’s how to do it right.
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Be precise when assigning tasks
Give plenty of detail to make sure your team know what you expect. Encourage them to ask questions if they aren’t clear what you meant. Remember, no question is a stupid question, even if the answer seems obvious to you!
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Match abilities to tasks
By getting to know your team and analysing their strengths and weaknesses you can ensure that you choose the best man (or woman) for the job. Listen to your team when you assign tasks and pay attention to the grumbles. Onerous tasks that no one wants (but have to be done) will naturally generate a few sighs, but if a team member feels they have been wrongly assigned to a task, perhaps because they feel it wastes their talents, they are liable to do it badly – or worse procrastinate!
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Check progress…
The whole point of delegation is to allow several tasks to be completed concurrently. As the manager you need to check that your team are managing to complete their tasks and to help solve any problems they may be struggling with.
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…But trust your employees too
You don’t need to be continually breathing down the necks of your team and you (probably) don’t need hourly status updates. If you’ve got the right team member working on the right task then be prepared to trust that they will complete it and raise any issues themselves. As you get to know your team you’ll be able to find where the balance between progress checks and micromanagement lies. Remember that their way of approaching a task may not be the same as yours, but both may be equally valid
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Grant sufficient authority
Make sure each team member has the authority to complete their tasks. This may mean providing them with a degree of budget control or permission to make decisions without further guidance. Trust that they won’t abuse the privilege and they’ll be able to complete the task quicker
Poor managers can’t delegate, whilst top managers learn how to make delegation work for them – which one will you become?
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