Many of you tell me that delegating is not always easy, and you are right. You probably know the benefits of delegating, whether for you or your organization, but there is still something that makes you uncomfortable or uncomfortable delegating.
I propose a reflection guided by two fundamental elements to manage the risk of delegating: a relationship of trust and clear expectations.
You can even reuse these tips and thoughts to validate the understanding of a task that has been delegated to you. You will be all the more successful, one way or the other!
1- A relationship of trust to manage the risk of delegating
To whom will you delegate?
Are you the type who regularly says the following type of sentence: “It will be done better/faster/more efficient/etc. if I’m the one who does it!”? If you think you don’t have anyone you can trust completely, it may be the following issues:
- You don’t have the right team or the right partners.
Thoughts:
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- What do you need to trust them?
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What skills are you looking for in your employees and partners?
- What skills do they lack? How can they acquire them?
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Name two qualities/strengths for each of the people around you and indicate how these people can help you.
- If you had confidence in everyone, how would that change your perspective of delegation?
- You are aware that your employees are capable of helping you, but you are simply not comfortable.
Thoughts:
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- What are you depriving yourself of by not delegating?
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What are the advantages for you of delegating?
- What do you have to lose by delegating?
How will you delegate?
- What tasks will you delegate?
Delegate both motivating and less inspiring tasks… Find the right balance between pleasant and interesting tasks and those that are not: a motivated employee performs better!
- What kind of follow-up will you do?
Finding the right balance between control and independence. You don’t want to become a micro, and at the same time acting too detached won’t make you feel more confident.
Thoughts:
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- What do you think is the happy medium?
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What follow-up agreement can you establish with your collaborator? What does he think?
2- Clear expectations
Here are a few tips to explain what you expect:
- Define the expected deliverables. What level of detail do you expect? Can you provide an example?
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Communicate important dates, including the expected delivery date.
- Ask the person what they understood
- Make intermediate validations. Especially for the first few times you delegate to a particular person. This will allow you to see the progress of the task and a draft of the results.
Thoughts:
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- What risk(s) are you willing to take to reap the benefits of delegating?
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How will you manage this risk(s)?
To go even further…
- Practice delegating! Don’t wait for a crisis to occur… You will be all the more zen in important moments.
- Delegate tasks that you understand well and for which you can clearly express your expectations.
- Recognize the help you are being given by thanking your employees.
What are your tips?
