Understanding The Truth About Delegation

The first thing you need to understand about delegation is that it simply does not happen on its own. As with any other kind of work that you have to complete, you will first need to learn how to manage a task properly, so that when you do delegate it the results will meet, if not exceed, your expectations.

The hallmark of a strong leader is that it requires learning to let go and being strong enough to put your faith in others to do things that you do not need to do on your own.

For many managers, delegating work and authority seems to be nothing more than a means of exercising free will in handing down tasks and responsibilities to others, who must then complete the task assigned to them and be accountable for the outcomes.

However, in its truest sense, delegating tasks and authority is not really an exercise of free will; it is meant to be a means whereby a manager can alleviate heavy workload and additional responsibilities that they cannot do on their own. By delegating some work and authority to others, it allows you to free your time and focus on doing more important work.

It always pay to understand that you must be in agreement regarding the standards that you expect, in order to measure how successfully or otherwise the job has been completed. That said, obviously the standards that you require have to be attainable as well as realistic.

Another question that you will need to answer is just how will you benefit by delegating work or authority! Effective delegation means picking the right person to do the right task - choosing a responsible person who can be given certain amount of authority to get things done.

Don't forget, be sure not to expect too much from the person to whom you are delegating the work the first time round. And you must always be on hand to help them should they run into difficulties.

Delegating tasks and responsibilities is something that you will be more effective with as you practice. Once you have learnt the fine art of delegating, you will soon find that you have more time on hand to devote to other and more important tasks.

In the end, successful delegation means that you must be committed to getting the work done properly. In addition, you must also get your employee to agree to complete the work entrusted to them. Properly done, delegating work is going to be beneficial to both a manager as well as their employee.

The bottom line is that managers can use delegation as a means to resolve short-term activities, where they themselves need support. In fact, by delegating it is possible to create enough time to personally deal with more important tasks, improving effectiveness, whilst being more efficient in your work, whilst developing your people too.

You can also delegate better by developing your leadership skills whilst realizing that there will always be further room for improvement. So, don't think that your job of delegating will end once you see your team members becoming more productive. It is an ongoing skill that always leaves room for further improvement.