Why is Delegating So Important?
Every leader knows there are not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything you desire. There comes a time when you must learn to master the art of delegation instead of doing everything yourself. When that time comes, delegation can provide your direct reports with challenging assignments and fulfilling work and free you up valuable time for you to perform other responsibilities. Wouldn’t it be great if you had the time to develop and pursue other business opportunities? By delegating tasks to others, you can operate at a more strategic level and move from the role of doer to the role of coach. Delegating allows you to balance the time needed for long range planning with the time needed to execute. You will quit spending such long hours every day, by reducing your work load and stress while enriching the jobs of your team members. Lastly, you will gain more time to take on exciting new projects and opportunities at the enterprise level while developing your team members to be ready for promotional opportunities and acting as a true back up for you.
Each time you pause and choose to do it yourself instead of delegating, you must realize that you may be depriving your staff from work that is challenging and offers them an opportunity to build or refine a skill. Your team becomes motivated through new challenges. They enjoy having a variety of tasks other than their everyday workload. Some tasks may include them engaging with others in the organization that they would never had the opportunity to interact with. Delegating shows them that you value the person and have confidence in them.
"If you want to do big things, you have to extend your reach beyond your ability to do everything at once.”
- Judith Siess
Why is it so hard for some people to delegate?
Most people do not delegate due to a few common concerns:
Common Concern 1: You might think it will be quicker if “I just do it myself.” The flaw in this logic is that by doing it yourself, you are using up valuable time that you could be doing something that may be a more valuable use of your time. You are also taking away the opportunity for the team member to ever become as proficient as you.
Common Concern 2: Perhaps you are hesitant to delegate because “they won’t do it right.” This logic implies “they won’t do it my way.” As a leader, you should keep in mind that there is usually more than one path to get to the same point on a map.
Common Concern 3: Leaders often don’t want to be kept out of the loop or lose responsibility. The leader may have a high need for control so that no surprises crop up. If you are this leader, you have a harder time letting go, you need to remind yourself that when you delegate it will be important for you to realize that you never relinquish the responsibility. You still maintain the accountability. You can reduce this concern by engaging in weekly check ins to both monitor progress and provide just-in-time coaching to increase the probability of success and build their confidence and competence.
Common Concern 4: Some leaders may not have full trust in their team member’s capability. If this sounds like you, please keep in mind that a former boss had to take a leap of faith in developing you. Choose to delegate by co-leading the project or delegating one phase of the project until he/she is ready to take it on in full.
Common Concern 5: A select group of leaders may feel the need for recognition. These leaders do not realize that you are only as strong as your team. When your staff shines, so do you. The last thing you want to do is hold them back from doing exceptional work on great projects. The more you rise to senior level positions, the more you are expected to surround yourself with top talent and develop them to take on more. Holding onto the work flies in the face of attracting, developing and retaining the best people. This shows you can manage people and that you spend your time on more valuable projects.
The desire for personal credit is yet another reason leaders do not delegate. Some leaders feel they need a lot of wins under their belt to succeed. If you are this leader, then you need to realize that developing team members or freeing up time for even bigger projects can be an even greater win for yourself.
When should you delegate?
Some leaders find it hard to decide when to delegate and it seems like others do not. Mastering delegation is a necessity if you want to continue growing in your leadership role. You cannot possibly take on more, if you are unwilling to let go of the tasks you were doing in your last role.
It is always a good time to delegate and develop your people. Your team will be more engaged because they believe they are growing in ways they didn’t think were possible.
Delegating can be very useful when used to develop team members. To have a team with depth, it is good from time to time to delegate projects that will cause team members to get out of their comfort zones.
How do I decide which tasks to delegate?
Deciding what to delegate is easy if you follow these simple steps. First, write down all your own major strategic priorities and/or initiatives. Determine the 25% of the projects/ assignments you could delegate to deliberate develop a team member and prepare them for levels of greater responsibility. To be beneficial, the assignment must help the team member learn or experience a specific skill. Next, divide your priorities into three groups: a) Projects I can delegate in full, b) Projects I can co-lead with a direct report and c) Projects I can delegate in part to help them learn in stages. The last group enables you to test what they can do and relinquish more responsibility as they prove themselves capable of taking on more.
A) Delegate in Full. The first group of initiatives you can delegate in entirety. These are projects that are given to staff members who have high potential and high performance. They are ready to take on a new project in full. Projects that leverage staff members’ strengths or that could offer a great end to end development experience. It can also include projects that involve overseeing external resources/ consultants and vendors.
B) Co-lead the Project. The second and final group of initiatives can be co-led with you.
C) Delegate in Part. Some projects have multiple phases or segments. Ask yourself, are there portions of this larger initiative that will give a direct report an opportunity to be exposed to the work but not own the entire end to end process? An example can include doing the front end market research or making a presentation on the recommendations. Once you have finished this process, you will be ready to delegate the project.
What steps to I take to delegate the project?
The first step will be for you to explain the assignment you want to delegate to the person you want to delegate it too. You will need to explain to them why he/she was chosen for this assignment and the skill you want him/her to learn or the experience you want him/her to acquire.
You will need to explain the person’s role in this project. Will they own it in entirety? Will they co-lead or own only a part of the project. You will then need to explain that you will let everyone know that the direct report will be taking on the project. That way it is not a surprise to everyone and the team member will receive assistance if they should ask. It is also important that the team knows the why.
When discussing the project with your direct report, you should agree on what success looks like. Define the expected outcomes. Discuss how you will measure success. Targets? Specify the deliverables and the time table.
Next you will turn the assignment over. Before you do this, make sure to meet in private so that it can be discussed without any interruptions. Allocate sufficient time to discuss the whole project. Go over the assignment step by step. Discuss expectations, end results, and the time line. Be sure to provide examples/samples of past work, if appropriate. Have the individual shadow you to see an example of how it’s done. Always allow the team member ample time to ask questions. Finally, follow up to provide coaching and feedback along the way.
Summary
Delegating frees up valuable time. Most leaders do not utilize delegations as much as they should. Delegation is a good source of projects/initiatives that you can utilize to develop team members. You should consider delegating when you need more time for higher priority work, when the work will help develop a team member and when you have taken on too much.
Key Takeaways
- Delegating can help you free up valuable time.
- Delegating can allow you to network, work on higher priority projects, and develop new business.
- Delegation can be used to develop skills that direct reports need to learn or experience.
- When learning to delegate, it is important to consider which of your projects/initiatives can be used to develop others.
- Projects can be delegated by pieces or in their entirety.
- When delegating a project, make sure you set aside time to discuss the project in its entirety.
- Make sure the person receiving the project understands what is required of them.
- Always discuss your expectations and a time line.