The Strategist

Greenlight it! How to delegate tasks



10/18/2019 - 09:59



Leaders know that delegation is necessary. It helps to relieve part of the load, focus on management and strategy. It is also an effective tool for employee development and team building. Therefore, it is very important to build the process correctly.



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Delegation is the transfer of tasks, authority for their implementation and responsibility for the result. An important component of this is the transfer of responsibility, but sometimes ambitions become a stumbling block on the way to delegation. Here are a few tools to help inform an employee that he is responsible for the result.

1. Don’t be afraid to say: "Responsibility for completing this task is entirely on you." Say this phrase, looking into the employee’s eyes, but try not to sound mean. It is better to emphasize the significance and importance of actions.

2. Do not correct mistakes by yourself. Suppose an employee brings in a project that is ready, and there are a lot of flaws. What do you do? Write comments, and then wait for the revised version. If necessary, allow enough time for verification and correction. Only in this way can you teach a person, and you will not have to do the work for him over and over again.

3. Don’t hover over and don’t control every step. Give the team a little independence. Strengthen the value of labor with trust, do not devalue it with constant supervision. First of all, employees will understand that they are trusted and they have all the authority to achieve their result. Secondly, they will learn to take responsibility for their work.

4. Set a goal, but do not give step-by-step instructions. Suppose you set the rules and explain every little thing. It seems to be cool, but what do we have in practice? The responsibility is again on you. In addition, you will have to adjust each segment because circumstances change. Tasks will be completed, but the result will be far from the maximum.

5. Do not become an extra link. Most tasks are part of a larger business process. The marketing department generates requests so that the sales department processes them, the service department contacts the customer and delivers, and the after-sales service department inquires about the quality of the work done. Within each department, tasks are also distributed between the team: someone writes the text, and someone puts it on social networks.

New leaders often strive for total control. They ask to give them all the completed tasks for verification, without explaining what the task is for and who will continue to work with the results. As a result, not only does a team member feel separated from the process and loses praise for a job well done, but also considers the task to be completely transferred to the authorities.

The task of the manager is to help employees show the maximum of what they are capable of. Therefore, create conditions for the team to succeed. Delegate. Give the green light.

Based on "Making Things Happen. Mastering Project Management" by Scott Berkun