The 5 Lesser Known Benefits of Delegation
Why Should You Delegate to Your Directs?
Effective managers routinely delegate tasks to their direct reports. Ineffective managers try to do everything themselves. This is why delegation is an essential manager skill. But what is it about delegation that makes it such and effective management tool (when it’s done right!). Are you doing delegation right? Take the Work Delegation Checkup to find out.
Work delegation isn’t just about managing workload. Effective managers understand the value of growing the team that they already have. This section will discuss some of the benefits of delegation to you the manager. Delegation done right has got a lot of motivational benefits for staff members but that’s a topic in another section.
There are obvious benefits but also several delegation benefits that most people don’t know about. That’s because delegation is one of those life skills that they just don’t teach you in school. Want to be a better boss to advance your career and earnings? Then improve your delegation manager skills.
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Three obvious benefits of delegating are:
- Reducing your workload to be more manageable
- Increasing focus on your important deliverables
- Getting rid of tasks that you don’t like
Tip: Delegation success starts with picking the right things to delegate, use the worksheet “How to Identify what to Delegate” as a delegation tool.
Five less well-known benefits of effective delegation are:
Delegation get’s better results. You’re not always the expert at everything. The best managers are the people who can leverage the unique skills and interests of their team. Even when you are the best person at the job you don’t have the time to pay the care and attention that some tasks require
Delegation gets thing done faster. Even if you’re the fastest person at the job, because you’re busy a slower member of staff can finish the job before you can even find a time in your diary to start it (MythBusted)
Delegation can solve problems that you can’t and can multiply your effectiveness. One of the most satisfying ways of solving a difficult problem is to hand it off to someone who thinks it’s easy. Being good at delegation is even more important when you get higher in the organisation and have to deal with multi-disciplinary activities where you have little subject matter expertise.
Employees love delegation. One of the biggest drivers of employee job satisfaction is the ability to grow and learn new things. This is why you can use delegation to motivate and retain your employees. Remember a boring task for you can be an exciting development opportunity for your employee
Delegation boosts employee performance. Delegation can even fix a weak employee because a big reason behind underperforming employees is a mismatch of skills and responsibilities
These are the benefits of delegation to you the manager. But it’s not just about you, work delegation done right work delegation is beneficial for your employees too.
What Successful Leaders have to say about Delegation
I’d like to quote a couple of successful leaders on what they have to say about delegation:
Sir Richard Branson: Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group
“One of the key skills I learned as a young businessman was the power of delegation. That has prompted me to bring in strong managers to build the Virgin companies, which allowed me to focus on our latest ideas and projects, and on finding the next businesses to start up. Along with my ability to listen to other people and realize when their suggestions are better than my own, this has helped me to attract and retain the excellent people on our team. If I set them challenges, keep encouraging them and create a dynamic environment, I find that people will always work hard.”
Jack Welch: Former CEO of General Electric
“When it comes to a choice between micromanaging and delegating tasks, “err on the side of delegation. The bigger the company, the more delegation you need to do. It makes your employees love being at the company and helps them flourish. And it gives managers a feel for who needs more attention.”
So as you can see these leaders aren’t just using delegation as a tool to get things done. These leaders recognise that the power of delegation is to motivate and retain employees. Powerful stuff.
Tip: To find out how to delegate, start with a good delegation process
Next Steps: Improve Your Manager Skills With Delegation Essentials
Delegation is an essential manager skill. To be a better boss, start with improving your own delegation skills with delegation training. Delegation Essentials is a free, online management training course.
Tip: Doing the course will enable you to get a certificate for your resume.
Comments:
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