Delegation in leadership and management is essential to accomplish great things. Whether you are creating a new business, starting a new team, tackling a big project, developing a new process, rebuilding a team, or trying to accomplish another big goal, delegation in leadership and management is how you get it done.
One of my favorite delegation quotes is from Ronald Reagan. He said:
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. (S)He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. ~Ronald Reagan
I really like this quote because of all the things great leaders do, they are incredibly good at delegation.
So How Can You Use Delegation In leadership And Management?
Turning all your responsibilities over to others without any planning or preparation is not an effective to delegation. Instead, follow the five tips outlined below for effective delegation in leadership and management.
Tip #1: Prioritize To Your Strengths
Every leader has their own strengths and weaknesses. To use delegation in leadership and management effectively, identify your strengths to leverage them for the biggest benefit. If you don’t already know your strengths, use a strengths assessment tool. My favorite strengths finder tool is StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath.
Once you know your strengths, do everything you can to work within your core strengths. Everything that is outside your core strengths can be delegated to someone else.
Tip #2: Delegate to the Strengths of Those You Lead
Great coaches know how to best use the strengths of each team player for the best of the team. For example, on a football team, the biggest and strongest players are usually the offensive and defensive linemen. The running backs are usually the fastest and have the ability to sneak between and around others to shoot the gaps. Quarterbacks usually have the best throwing ability and view of the field. Great coaches see each person’s skills and abilities and leverage them for the best of the whole team.
Delegate to the strengths of those they lead. Observe their habits and actions in a variety of circumstances to find their strengths. Also, learn their skills and potential so you can delegate to them to get the best from them.
Tip #3: Give Clear Instructions
Have you ever received instructions from others and then a few moments later, you realize you have many questions and don’t know how to execute their request? That usually happens because they didn’t give you clear enough instructions to do what they asked you to do.
When you delegate tasks or responsibilities, be very clear in what you expect. Identify exactly how and what you want others to do. Clearly identify the expected outcome. And, take all other necessary steps to make sure they know what is required to get the job done in the right way.
Tip #4: Trust, But Verify
When assigning tasks to others, trust them to do a great job. Show confidence in them verbally and through your actions. Be sure to verify their work, however, and follow up on their progress. For example, I often let people know I will follow-up with them and verify their work. Not because I don’t trust them, but because I want to make sure everything is on course as planned and scheduled.
Tip #5: Learn to Let Go
Often it is easier to do something yourself than it is to train someone else and have them do it. If, however, you do that with every task, you end up doing everything. At that point, why do you even have people working for you? Instead, let go! Be willing to give responsibilities to others to take things off your plate. It alleviates stress from you and helps them learn and grow.
Often it is really hard to let go, but it is essential that you let go of some things so others can learn and grow and you can focus on what can only be done by you.
What’s Next?
So what’s next? Now that you know the tips mentioned above to use delegation in leadership and management, do everything you can to put them into practice daily. As you do that, you will learn how each point can be best implemented for your situation.
Please share the lessons you learn with those you lead. Also, share them in the comments section below so others in the Leadership Done Right community can benefit as well.
Spot On! Teams under the leadership of a directing leader work great.