It is evident that sharing your activities with others can help you carry them out, in addition to strengthening ties on a social level. However, in the workplace you can also apply this beneficial way of life thanks to delegating tasks.
Knowing how to delegate responsibilities implies covering the main mission of a businessman, which is to meet his objectives effectively. But it is natural to be reluctant to distribute responsibilities at work at the beginning, so it is recommended that you begin progressively delegating less relevant tasks.
It is important to know the specialties of each member so that they can freely develop their full potential because it helps to better achieve the common objective.
Do you want to know the keys to effective delegation? After reading this article you will know everything you need to start using this powerful business tool, which is an essential part of leadership.
What is delegation?
Knowing how to delegate responsibilities, far from losing control, means redirecting certain tasks to trained members of your team for more effective management of time and workload.
They can be delegated from small tasks to providing the opportunity to make important decisions to other professionals. A good boss is not one who takes charge of everything personally, but rather one who ensures that the set of actions carried out benefits the organization.
Therefore, knowing how to delegate responsibilities implies an equitable distribution of responsibilities that are within the reach of other employees. This decision generates business and professional benefits at different levels.
This distribution of tasks should be done whenever it is a logical decision, given the workflows and specialties of the person to whom it is delegated.
Delegating means placing trust in those you work with, while recognizing their capabilities. This is why it can function as a valuable motivational stimulus that improves the work environment.
What is the importance of knowing how to delegate responsibilities?
Covering yourself too much at work is never advisable, since it only implies an overload that affects the quality of the tasks performed, and what is more important, the state of health.
You must accept that knowing how to delegate responsibilities efficiently is simply another function within your duties as a manager. Since it is not easy to assign the right tasks to each member at the right time in view of business progress.
But applying this technique generates benefits that are detailed throughout the article. For example, this delegation represents a training opportunity for the professional development of the team. At the same time, it entails a form of learning for any leader.
So, knowing how to delegate responsibilities means distributing time efficiently to optimize working hours and enhance the skills of each employee.
The lack of business delegation expresses a lack of trust, as well as an extreme need for control. Union makes force. Therefore, you will always obtain better results and fresh perspectives if you surround yourself with other professionals.
Reasons why there are people who do not like to delegate responsibilities
One of the most frequent reasons is the false belief that training workers will involve a waste of time. On the contrary, you are making an intelligent investment that in the long term means having a prepared and committed team.
“If you want to do something well, you have to do it yourself”, you have surely heard this phrase more than once. However, in the professional field, productivity and innovation acquire a very important value.
Although in principle you are the greatest specialist in a certain area, knowing how to delegate responsibilities is essential, since, in certain cases, there are several ways to correctly execute a task.
Sharing your functions with others facilitates creativity by incorporating different points of view. Also, remember that perfection does not exist, but a learner always improves progressively.
Benefits of knowing how to delegate responsibilities appropriately
Increase motivation and commitment
When you involve other people in a project, a feeling of belonging is created that considerably increases their commitment to the organization, so work performance and the effort invested grow at the same time.
Sharing different skills to achieve a single objective favors the creation of solid working relationships. Knowing how to delegate responsibilities stimulates motivation, which is an essential element to successfully carry out any action.
At the same time, granting the kind of autonomy and freedom that allows one to know how to delegate responsibilities, improves the problem-solving capacity of each individual and favors their ability to improve.
Talent retention
Any skilled employee is excited to stay with a company that values their abilities, tracks their progress, and has opportunities for career advancement.
Once you surround yourself with this talented staff, try to adopt a flexible, patient and, above all, formative perspective, to accept that the path to success implies that you will become less and less essential in certain cases. Knowing how to delegate responsibilities means trusting part of your authority without giving it up.
Stress reduction
There are many managers who fear losing authority if they begin to regularly delegate functions, but as indicated above, the desire to take on too much only leads to work overload and health problems.
The tasks of a manager are tactical and planning in nature, in order to achieve the set objectives in a given time. But to do this, it is essential to involve other specialized professionals in the execution.
Thus, by knowing how to delegate responsibilities, you free up time to dedicate yourself to innovative projects that benefit the organization or to manage the tasks of a leader. But, above all, the chances of suffering episodes of stress or anxiety due to the accumulation of tasks are reduced.
Professional growth of the team
The new challenges that team members will have to address involve better professional training. It is necessary to understand the work process as the opportunity for constant improvement of personnel, as well as as obtaining results.
Above all, at a creative level, incorporating the team greatly facilitates business innovation, in processes such as brainstorming. Furthermore, by knowing how to delegate responsibilities, as a leader you can obtain a clear vision of the strengths and weaknesses of each employee.
Productivity improvement
It will be easier to move forward quickly once you learn how to delegate responsibilities, since you will be able to share the effort. In turn, employees who work more motivated and in a better work environment tend to significantly increase their performance, improving overall productivity.
Of course, this time saving is only obtained through a clear delimitation of the maximum execution or delivery period. But it is also important to choose the right professionals to achieve this goal.
Generate trust and recognition
While improving your work-life balance, you can also create an environment of trust thanks to knowing how to delegate responsibilities. Building trust is essential for the efficient functioning of any team.
Among the benefits of delegating is also the ability to offer recognition or incentive to the person to whom it is delegated. The chosen employee feels valuable, since the leader believes in his or her abilities, while there is the possibility of a promotion in the company.
What disadvantages does not knowing how to delegate responsibilities bring?
The main consequences of not knowing how to delegate responsibilities translate both physically and psychologically into the personal sphere. Exhaustion, stress or insomnia can in turn lead to physical pain, caused by overwork.
However, at the business level, the consequences can also be decisive. Above all, if the mistake is made of not planning this delegation of functions so that it is effective.
When there is reluctance to delegate functions, there comes a time when managers realize that this is essential when it is too late, and then the delegation occurs hastily.
Therefore, there is a risk of delegating functions out of obligation, rather than as part of business planning. In this context, tasks are assigned to the wrong people, before checking their qualifications due to lack of foresight.
Steps to delegate responsibilities like a good leader
Before committing to the effective delegation of responsibilities, it is highly recommended, however, that you consider certain aspects about the task or project that you are thinking of delegating.
For example, consider whether tasks of this nature will be repeated in the future, consider whether you have time to train an employee and help them through the process, or whether the project does not require your full attention to be successful.
Once these approaches have been made, the following steps will be very useful to develop correct planning.
Define the delegation process
Delegation is only effective if it is carried out through proper planning. Therefore, avoid applying this tool when you feel overwhelmed unless it is strictly necessary.
The first step is to clearly define the objectives that the delegation will have, since, although it is always a beneficial decision, at the same time it must be made in accordance with common sense.
The objective of the delegation refers to the expected result after the process, in this way a global vision useful for decision-making is obtained. For example, to know who is the best person to carry out the function.
Ideally, it should be the most prepared person possible. Although it is always advisable to provide opportunities to new talents still in training. But in addition to having technical skills, it is essential that the employee has skills such as problem solving, commitment or effective time management.
Define the functions to delegate
There are certain strategic functions that you cannot delegate, or in which at least the leader’s continuous supervision must be present. Therefore, before delegating different tasks, you must establish priorities and assess their implications at a global level.
For example, it is recommended that you delegate tasks that have to be performed on a recurring basis or that fit the interests of a team member specialized in the area.
You can delegate very important functions if you consider that there are very competent people prepared enough to assume them successfully.
But, above all, remember to clearly define the functions of the professional to avoid imbalances in decision-making. Precision is key if you want to know how to delegate responsibilities effectively.
Invest in training and information
Assertiveness becomes a fundamental ability to know how to delegate responsibilities effectively. This way, you can clearly explain what you are looking for while conveying confidence in the employee to whom you delegate.
It is about explaining the procedure in detail and ensuring that you have all the information available at your fingertips. As previously mentioned, training, far from being a waste of time, always represents a valuable long-term investment.
To train a team member and know how to delegate responsibilities, it is important that, instead of offering solutions to problems, you ask useful questions or remind them of lessons to guide them on their own to the solution.
The crucial thing is that you offer guidance on the work context, how the tools are used, what the priority level of the task is and, above all, on delivery times. The latter must be strategically well defined from the beginning.
Even if the guidelines are clear from the beginning, it is valuable to encourage your employee to implement their own ideas. It provides freedom for them to take actions that they consider beneficial to the project.
Be available to the employee
You never lose control over what happens, you simply learn to know how to delegate responsibilities. It is because of this that it is essential to be present in a rather passive way throughout the entire process.
From the beginning, you must make it clear to the employee that you are open to answering any questions and it is essential to prioritize good communication. In turn, ask your team to evaluate the delegation process by providing you with feedback to perfect the method.
Measure progress
Knowing how to delegate functions also means checking whether this technique has been applied effectively. This should be evaluated using pre-established objective criteria, for example using online tools that monitor the work of employees in terms of job performance.
Control mechanisms must be introduced periodically, this is a feedback process. In addition to verifying that everything is working correctly, it is essential to offer suggestions or make corrections if necessary.
But avoid imposing your point of view or interfering in the tasks when this step comes, because this will prevent the benefits of delegating. On the contrary, focus on the result obtained instead of on the methods used, since when dealing with another person, the latter may differ from yours.
Even so, remember that in the end you are ultimately responsible for business success or failure, hence the importance of reviewing it from time to time.
Recognize the work
This last step is key to maintaining good communication, as well as a positive working relationship after delegating to leadership. When an employee feels that their work is valued, a feeling of belonging is established that increases work engagement and motivation.
But whether a favorable or unfavorable result has been obtained with respect to the initial objective, gratitude must always be present in an effective delegation. You can share ways to improve for future success, while still giving credit.