Tips for effective delegation
- Luke Telford
- 10 March 2010
Photo credit: mdeng @ sxc.hu
There is a simple solution. Being a small business owner comes with a remarkable luxury not known to many other people. That luxury is delegation. Knowing how to delegate efficiently will save you an enormous degree of stress in the long run. Just like the practice of sharing questions, delegating will also improve the quality of work in your business.
Manage risk
That said, it's important not to abrogate yourself of all responsibility. If you offload everything onto your employees and something goes wrong, you can't exactly blame them. This is where you need to temper your delegation rampage with some risk management. You need to assess the risk factor associated with any task before you delegate it.
Articulate tasks
When you assume, you make an Ass out of U and Me. This may be a hackneyed phrase, but it sticks when it comes to management. Never assume that a staff member understands what a particular task entails: make sure you outline it clearly.
An effective way to minimise risk when delegating is by having clearly outlined tasks. Make sure you outline your task lucidly; if your instructions to a staff member are ‘fuzzy' then the likelihood of them performing the task as you need it performed are slim. Another thing that helps with articulation is to place the focus of your instructions on the outcome. It's easy to confuse people by placing too much emphasis on the process.
Correct tools
Who you choose for the task is important, also. Some of your staff may be perfectly capable of performing tasks that you set them, others may need direction-don't be afraid to give some where it's needed, but gauge the degree of instruction to the employee carefully.
Remember that your staff is there to help you out. Never approach delegation as a punitive or condescending thing. You're sharing your company's workload with them. Your staff members want to feel valued; if you frame delegation as a sharing of
valued responsibility, they will be much more receptive to it. #
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