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  According to Harvard Business School, “delegation refers to the transfer of responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another”. Delegation is simply a situation whereby a manager assigns specific tasks to their employees. The team members are given their tasks while the managers or business owners are left with more time to focus on bigger projects.
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Delegation is a vital management skill and is beneficial to all parties involved. Employees get to be gainfully occupied with tasks, keeping them useful and productive. The managers are given more time to handle more valuable tasks that will grow the organization in one way or the other. Delegation is simply the division of labour, as one man cannot do everything. It increases effectiveness, personally and cooperatively. In this article are ways managers can delegate effectively.

  • Know What To Delegate

Inasmuch as it is important to delegate tasks, not everything should be delegated. There are certain things you cannot assign to employees but will need to handle yourself. For instance, management at its highest level, such as performance reviews should not be the responsibility of team members. Managing the recruitment process of your organization should also be handled by you. However, if the business is expanded with a competent HR manager, this task can be delegated to them.

  • Know Your Employees’ Strengths And Weaknesses

This is an important aspect you should not be toiling with. It is the first step to knowing who to delegate one task or the other to. Work with the strong and weak points of your team members. Carefully assess them by giving them subtle tests or even engaging them in role-playing, to ascertain what they are good at. If an employee is good in one area, through skill development or practice, let them handle that area. It will be wrong to assign them tasks they will perform poorly at. Also, assess the individual goals of team members; the experiences they wish to garner and assign them roles accordingly. Once they show the readiness to learn and do so as swift as possible, you can cash in on that.
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  • Show Support

Delegating tasks to team members does not mean you will fold your arms and watch them flop without giving them the required guidance. When delegating, some persons may need the required skill set or training resources to be able to perform at optimum levels. It is your responsibility to provide the necessary support system. Without this, you will just be setting them up for failure. This does not imply that you become overtly controlling, instead, you will guide them step by them and then leave them to sail.

  • Be Patient

There are times you will feel your team members are slow in performing their tasks or not being good enough. It is expected. But you will need to make room for some lapses here and there. Don’t expect perfectionism. You probably have more years of experience in that field and more training, but you need to be patient and wait for your team to grow as well. This will not negate the fact that you need to give rules and achievable deadlines, so there’s a structure in delivery. However, it should be done from a place of patience and understanding. The more you continue to delegate these tasks, the more they learn and become more effective.

  • Give Appraisals

Appraisals can either be constructive criticism of work not properly done or praises for exceptional performance. Whichever case, don’t forget to appraise your team members. For those that perform well, give them credit and rewards if possible. It will go a long way to encourage them to take up new and challenging tasks. Obviously, you will need to work on your delegation skills. This is because delegation is the way to go if you want to get things done faster. There might be little hitches on the way, but the process is worth it. You can’t run a one-man squad unless you are the only one running your business. But when there are people in your workspace, do well to utilize their services. Featured Image Source: Novapoint Capital
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This article was first published on 1st November 2021

chidiogo-akaelu

Chidiogo Shalom Akaelu holds a degree in English and Literary Studies, from the University of Nigeria. She is a freelance writer, editor and founder of Loana Press, a budding online publishing outlet.

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