To become an effective and successful leader, one must know the importance of delegation and focus on other areas that make a great difference for the success of the project. A delegation of tasks also helps to manage people effectively in a team. Delegation tasks not only frees a person to focus on their imperative assignments but also helps in the growth and development of other people in the team. When done correctly, it motivates the person to whom the tasks are delegated, which, as a result, contributes to their professional development.

Delegation involves:

• Clear allocation of assignments and responsibilities.
• Placing well-defined objectives and measures.
• Supervising the process, progress, and outcomes.

Here are some of the points that one should keep the following in mind to delegate efficiently.

Prepare

The key to effective delegation is preparing groundwork, which requires careful planning and development of tasks that are being delegated. Designing a clear map of the required tasks will save time and provide clear objectives to the person who will perform those tasks. The purpose here is to be specific and identify responsibilities that need to be assigned, which requires clear communication of the tasks.

Pareto’s Principle 

The Pareto Principle, named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, or The 80/20 Rule, 

Effective managers do not delegate the 20 percent of tasks that affects 80 percent of results, but exactly the opposite. Delegating unimportant tasks such as administrative work that are neither sensitive nor high-risk can be a better option than handing over key tasks. Moreover, these tasks should be delegated based on one’s potential to ensure maximum productivity and effective results.

Challenge and motivate

When deciding whom to delegate certain tasks to, smart managers take many factors into consideration such as individual’s skill sets, nature of the assignment, opportunities for growth, among others. This requires having a good understanding of aptitudes and competencies of the team members.

Clear Explanation

Managers should provide a clear explanation of tasks and responsibility including the expected outcome to ascertain that the person to whom the work is delegated is able to understand the work and is able to complete it in an effective manner.

Take a personal interest in the progress of the delegated task

Managers should provide guidance for the resources that may be required to complete the task. Requesting regular update of tasks and willing to provide assistance, if required, is valuable. However, this should be done without being intrusive, which will give the impression of untrustworthiness to the team member. This can be done by keeping an environment of open communication.

Evaluate and reward

Evaluation of results is more crucial than methods. If the assignments were achieved competently by the team, they should be informed of their success. In case of insufficient performance, the manager should analyse and provide effective feedback.

With practice, the delegation process becomes faster and seamless. As mentioned previously, not only does it help in reducing managers from getting exhausted from work, but it also helps the team to grow together. Moreover, it provides the manager with an opportunity to identify the strengths of their team members.

It also boosts team morale and enthusiasm, enabling them to dive in the challenging projects together. The saying “if you want the job done right, you should do it yourself” is no more applicable in today’s highly competitive and task-oriented era. A better approach is to “delegate effectively if you want a job well done.”