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Delegating can be a difficult task all on its own especially if you have a type A personality. You like to be in control, you like to know when and how things are getting done. So, you figure the best way to accomplish this is to do everything yourself, right? Well, it took me many years of trying to do it all myself before I finally learned the art of delegating.
#1 – Delegating Small Tasks
Start with smaller tasks to test out the trustworthiness of those you are delegating to. If you try straight out the gate to delegate a hugely important task and it falls through you may never want to delegate again and you’d only be hurting yourself. The more you have on your plate the less productive you become. Start by finding a task that isn’t a high priority and then monitor the progress of the person you assigned it to.
#2 – Building Trust
Delegating really begins with building relationships. You need to trust the individual you are delegating to and building that trust needs to be a process. You can’t just open the doors of your business and hand the keys over to somebody you just met. That would be crazy! There must be an established relationship for delegation to work and work well.
Eventually as the relationship between delegator and delegatee grows you will find it easier and easier to let go of more of the tasks you’ve taken on and begin to feel comfortable delegating higher priority and more important tasks. Keep in mind that you never want to make someone feel like they are doing your job for you. You must learn to walk the fine line between being a ”master delegator” and someone who is just trying to shirk responsibility.
#3 – Verification
This is a must when delegating. The last thing you want to do is delegate a task and never think about it again. If you are still essentially responsible for the outcome of the task that has been delegated, you need to keep your head in the game and your eye on the ball. Don’t constantly be looking over someone’s shoulder but make sure to check in from time to time.
#4 – Setting Reminders
My calendar is my best friend when it comes to delegating tasks. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about something when the deadline is no longer yours. Set up reminders to follow-up and make sure things are going smoothly. When the overall outcome affects you it’s prudent to keep yourself engaged even when others may be helping to get you to the finish line.
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