Delegation: The Art Of Delegating

Have you ever wished you could just get some help, not just at work but at home too? The answer is simple: you need to learn the skills behind delegation. It is not just for those high up members of a team that can ask for help with a task to allow you to focus on a different area, but it does need handling carefully to get the right result.

Getting In The Right Frame Of Mind For Delegation

You have to prepare if you are going to delegate a task or job to someone else. They might not have the same standards as you or feel the same towards the outcome, but it is possible to give a person the reigns of a job with a clear definition of the outcome and the right training and tools to do the job.

 

If you are under the belief that no one can do the job like you and you will only have to do the task again to your standards, then you are not in the right mind frame to let others help. Teaching another person to do a job but allowing him or her the freedom to do the job their way as long as they reach the same conclusion as you; who is to say their way is wrong.

Teaching And Training Are Honing Your Own Skills

Teaching another person is a great way at focusing what skills you have learnt and are able to pass on. However, don’t expect another individual, who has limited training in an area, to move forward without the proper guidance. It is better to teach by allowing another to try than to do the work for them and hope they are listening and taking notes.

Learning leadership training is important, great positive leaders produce great teams. Understanding the management skills of teaching others is important, it shows you are confident in skills and this can lead to an even better position for the business or home environment.

It is important that you aren’t afraid to delegate, it teaches responsibility and trust. However, the way you ask for help will determine your ability as a person with management success, those that demand help are less likely to succeed in having their team respect them. Those that are polite and are considerate will get more back from their team long-term.

Delegation is the assignment of responsibility or authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities.

Delegation Is Great For Stress

If you have too much to do then it is possible to let others help to reduce the stress. I found this area difficult, I didn’t want others to do a job that was my domain, letting someone else do the task for me seemed to cut me in half. I knew I couldn’t do it all but what if they didn’t do it to my standards, then it hit me, one, it didn’t have to be my standard and two, if the person knows what it supposed to look like at the end, then it could be my teaching that was the problem.

I have learnt to relax what I thought was an achievable standard and in reality it takes much of the stress from my day. It has taught me patients with others and whilst I might have some abilities to achieve jobs and tasks, other people might not have had such training and this has made me more conscious of having clear instructions for any task, as well as the results too.

Therefore, whilst it is important to learn the art of delegation, it is a skill that needs practice to get right. What is most important is the ability to recognise the work of others and to remember to say thank you, otherwise they might not help next time.