How to work smarter by delegating

You have heard it a million times – There is no “I” in TEAM. Well, that old adage is so well worn because it is undeniably true. Good delegation helps you to work On your business rather than working in it. Your business cannot flourish if you insist on performing all of the important duties yourself. One of the most important keys to success is building a strong team of support players and then delegating wisely.

By effectively delegating the work, you can reduce stress while building a stronger and more reliable crew of employees. You cannot delegate tasks haphazardly. There is a right way and a wrong way to delegate in the workplace. The Business Minder invites you to take a look at how to delegate workplace tasks effectively, so your business has the best chance to succeed.

Training Comes Before Delegating

Before you can trust an employee to handle a certain task, you need to provide that employee with the training necessary to handle that task. You cannot expect an employee to complete the task successfully if he is not trained in how to do it, so training needs to be an essential part of your workplace if you want to have competent employees who are capable of handling a variety of tasks.

Understanding the Three Concepts of Delegation

Delegation, when done properly, follows three core concepts – responsibility, authority, and accountability.

1, Responsibility – When an employee is delegated a task, the desired result needs to be clearly delivered so they know exactly what is expected of them. This does not imply that you should direct them how to accomplish the results, but only what their responsibility is to the task’s completion. You are trusting that employees will produce the desired results in a way that works for them.

2, Authority – When a task is delegated, sometimes parts of that task may require a certain authority in order for them to be completed, like approving a business purchase or transaction. It is important to note that while you are giving the employee the authority necessary to complete that particular task, there may be certain boundaries that they need to stay within as well.

There may be budget restraints the employee needs to keep in mind, or some other type of criteria they need to be aware of. This information needs to be clearly presented to the employee in order to help minimize potentially costly mistakes.

3, Accountability – Whoever is delegating the job task needs to understand that ultimately, they are the one who will be held accountable for the task’s completion. Although the job is doing performed by another employee, it is the manager’s responsibility to make sure they are following protocol, and that the job is completed on time and as directed.

Delegating Is Different Than Assigning a Task

It's important for both managers and employees to recognise the difference between delegating a task, and assigning a task. When you assign an employee a task, it is usually a job that is within the duties and responsibilities of his or her job title.

But, when you “delegate” a task to an employee, that task is usually a job that the manager would otherwise have to do. This involves giving the employee the authority to perform this particular task, which comes with higher level of responsibility.

Understandably, in some situations, an employee may feel as if the manager is “dumping” a job on him that the manager just does not feel like dealing with. It is important for you, or the manager, to make sure the employee does not feel this way by recognising them in some way for a job well done.

Letting go is so hard to do. It’s a known fact that most small business owners (myself included) start businesses trying to do everything on our own. What usually ends up happening is that we get burned out in the process.

One of my clients remarked that for the longest time, they ran around like a headless chicken with a “Superman” cape on until they came to the realisation that they needed help. They realised that they needed to “work on my business and not in it”. Eventually, little by little they started delegating tasks to others. The Business Minder is a business consultant and management service and operates in SE Asia with clients in Bali, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.