THE ART OF DELEGATION

Managing  a team requires a lot of qualities and the art of delegation probably is one of the most important ones. If one doesn’t delegate properly, he loses a lot of time and resources ( people). From the experiences I had learning to build a team (committing awful lots of mistakes) I am putting down a few key principles which helped me and which are helping me now also to delegate successfully.

Don’t look for perfection

Your objective is to get the job done, not create a masterpiece. Establish a standard of quality and a fair time frame for reaching it. Once you establish the expectations, let your team decide how to complete the assignment or to reach the target.

Provide the team with complete details

Make sure that your team has all the information needed to complete the job. Comfirm that they understand the requirements and also accepts the whole concept. The idea is to make the tea believe that it’s their own idea and not something which has been ordered to them. Make them feel proud in completing the task.

Stop believing that you’re the only one who can do the job properly

Just because a leader in your team does things differently doesn’t mean that he or she won’t do the job right or as well. If you establish expectations of the goal and the standards (or ethics) to follow, then methodology shouldn’t be an issue. An important and often overlooked part of the “delegation” is that it helps develop team leaders for advancement and creates a better work environment.

Focus on teaching skills

Delegating doesn’t mean passing off work you don’t enjoy, but letting your team stretch their skills and judgment. As you hand over greater responsibility, it is important to understand that learning new skills includes making mistakes. Don’t act indifferent to people who made a good-faith effort to do things right, even when they could not turn up the way they were supposed to.

Check on progress

Let the team leaders do the work, but check in periodically on progress. Don’t look over a leader’s shoulders or watch their every move. When you outline the expectations in the beginning, make sure you build in checkpoints for follow-up. Learn the art of seeing the whole picture by numbers. Monitoring is an important aspect of delegation and numbers tell every bit of the story.

Say thank you to the people who have accepted the responsibility

 Make sure that your team members know that their efforts are recognized and appreciated. Most of the times, this encouragement is the biggest driving force for them. And make sure that the acknowledgement and appreciation is done publicly which helps build the image of your team members in the team and this motivates others also to come forward.

LIFE IS MEANT TO BE ABUNDANT – ROHIT MATHUR

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