How to delegate effectively

Lynn Madeley, CEO: Euro RSCG Worldwide South Africa, talks about the fine art of delegation.

People say they are control freaks, or that delegation takes too long. It is easier to do it themselves, because “if you want the job done well, do it yourself”. 

That same control freak, perfectionist and workaholic can suddenly leap into delegator mode at the flick of a button and it is usually when panic sets in – panic that the job is simply not going to get done unless the load is spread.
Other, untrained delegators do it differently. They delegate everything. These delegator types often delegate well in that they are specific and people can learn from them without chaos being created. The problem is they often take the credit for the work, or rather, they simply don’t tell their boss that someone else did it.
Why does the ability to delegate well matter? You get to a position in a company when you simply can’t do it all and to be effective in your job, you have to work with and manage a team. Part of the skill in creating an effective team is delegating. Also, your company needs you to be a good delegator, which does not mean you over-delegate.

Poor delegators
Poor delegators are people who delegate because they feel the task is beneath them, are lazy or disorganised, or they don’t know how to perform the task themselves and are too insecure to admit it. A good delegator sees a task given to a member of the team as an opportunity to learn and grow – an attitude which is less about self and more about developing the team. Become more considered and more specific in your approach. You should be setting milestones, encouraging feedback and engaging in effective dialogue. Over time, your whole team should be able to perform your job as well as you can. Don’t panic, they won’t be pushing you out of a job, but you might be pushed up to the next level.

Empower employees and colleagues
Don’t expect miracles. The first time you delegate a new task, allow your colleagues to grow in confidence and they will gradually begin to ask for more. The first time you delegate something new, the best way of teaching it is to do it together, within reason.
Make time to explain and be very specific about what you want done, but don’t tell people how to do it, unless they ask. Let them go on a journey of exploration and let them use their own creativity to answer the problem so that they are inspired to brilliant. You need to empower someone to think and own the task and stay within parameters that have specific deliverables.
The wonderful thing about great delegation is that you build a robust team that can answer and anticipate problems and so become incredibly valuable to you and the organisation. And the result? Everyone gets promoted.