More Time for You: Are You Delegating Enough?

Focus Newsletter, Spring 2007

When you find yourself working late or struggling to get everything accomplished, have you considered that maybe you’re not delegating enough to available staff?

Many people ask me about better delegation skills and while there are many aspects to delegation, I can share three major components here:

1. Know your current commitments and limitations. The best way to delegate is to know the complete inventory of tasks that you’re required to do, identify those things which represent the best use of your time and decide from the remaining list which things could be handled by someone else. Without knowing your total list of commitments, you may not be able to identify those things which could be accomplished by someone else.


2. Knowing the skills of your staff: When you are unsure of what to give to whom, test the waters. The only way you’ll know what each person is capable of is to delegate and train and see how they manage the task. You’ll find out who is best suited for certain tasks or projects.


3. Planning and Follow Through: Are you making sure that you define the goals for your staff and the deadlines by which each task should be accomplished? Most people work best with structured deadlines and clear goals. Also, be available to train and support. Then hold employees accountable. If they’re interested in doing a better job, they will want to know if they did a good job or a bad job. Motivate them by taking real interest in their growth and development and reward them for a job well done.

It’s true that delegation takes time. There’s no getting around this. However, it is an investment of your time and one that should be taken seriously. Don’t fall into the trap of “I can do it better/faster myself.” This approach doesn’t progress you or your staff and it reveals that delegation may have been a challenge for you in the past. Maybe there’s some room for growth here.

If you expand the knowledge of your staff, then you can delegate more, and when you delegate effectively, and then you can reap the reward of more time for yourself to pursue goals and priorities that will help you and your company grow.