Learning the art of delegating to the right person

If you've ever been in a position of leadership, you know the importance of delegating. It doesn't matter if you're planning your grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary party, or if you're making a sister company takeover. Either way, you know that delegating is key to successful business management. But delegating isn't just about assigning tasks to random people. It's important to choose the right person to delegate a task to. Otherwise your task has less of a change for success. So let's discuss how to learn the art of delegating to the right person.

Before you delegate any type of task, you must be able to choose the best possible candidate for that job. But before you're able to choose the best person for the job, you need to know your employees. You should take the time to examine your employees' capabilities. An excellent way to do this is to conduct a personal survey or personal interview to reassess employees' skills, determine which duties each employee believes s/he can handle, and recognize goals and the direction each employee desires to advance towards. Once you know your employees you'll be able to consider and eventually choose which one would be best for a particular task.

Here are some questions to consider before delegating a task:
 Does the person you're thinking of have the knowledge to do the job well? An employee who is closer to the action or in contact with suppliers or clients will often be better equipped to complete a task than you are.
 Will the employee grow from the experience? Will it make him or her more valuable to your company? One of the greatest benefits of delegating is that it allows your employees to grow and expand in their abilities. They will enjoy their job more and your company will benefit.
 Does the person you're thinking of share similar values and perspectives? Will they be likely to consider what would be best for the company? If the answer is no, or even maybe, this employee might come up with solutions that are not acceptable to you. Or worse, the task may not be completed correctly, causing everyone to suffer.
 Does the person have the initiative to get the job done? Will s/he be reliable and complete the task on time?
 Is the person interested and have a good imagination? You want to choose someone who will be able to think for him/herself and complete the task in a unique yet acceptable way. You don't want someone who isn't capable of making decision on his/her own.

Once you've delegated a task to an employee, here are a few things you should remember to do:
 Be specific about what you want to happen. Although your employees are eager to help, they still need you to tell them exactly what they need to do. Be clear about what and when you want something done.
 Avoid confusion. Once it is clear who does what, the person who has been assigned a task should always handle that task. Lower level employees do not get to delegate important tasks to others. Frustration will increase if there are several people working on the same delegated task. To avoid this, stick to one person per task.
 Let go! No matter how or when you delegate, you must remember to let go! Once you've delegated a task you must step away and let the person who has been assigned the task complete that task. In giving up your control, you and your company will profit. Your employees will feel wanted and useful. You will be able to fill your calendar with important tasks rather than inconsequential jobs that your employees could do just as well.

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Categories: Management,

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