By Vaishnavi Kumar
“You can do anything, but not everything”
– David Allen
It is well known to us that no matter the amount of work we put in, we do need support and help at a point. Being efficient is a great skill, but dividing the workload is an art that only a few can master. Sharing your work does not signify that you’re incapable of achieving something on your own. Instead, delegating will help you attain things that you could have never achieved alone.
Why is delegating important?
Delegating refers to entrusting your work and sharing your burden with others. As said by Harvey Mackay, “Delegating doesn’t mean passing off work you don’t enjoy but letting your employees stretch their skills and judgement.” Some people believe delegating doesn’t help. They think it increases one’s responsibility and stress.
Let us look at a few points which will help us understand the importance of delegation:
- Delegating improves the various abilities of your team members. When you assign tasks to your employees, they will explore new ways to accomplish them. This will help them maximise their knowledge as well. A sense of confidence is instilled in them. This enhances their commitment towards work and the company. Cooperation is an important skill that all workers should master.
- Delegating saves time and unnecessary effort. It might take you 10 hours to complete a certain task. When you pass on the work to your employees it might merely take 3 hours, if they work collectively. Working with others reduces efforts and increases results.
- Delegating helps reduce stress. People trying to fulfil all their work by themselves will experience severe burnout. Not eating meals on time, messed-up sleep schedules, excessive stress and anxiety will be a part of your life if you don’t learn to delegate. Ultimately, you will reach a stage where you can no longer function properly and all the hard work will count for nothing.
How to delegate?
- Begin with choosing the right employees– Delegating becomes easier and more beneficial when you have the right workers under you. Employees with the appropriate skills and abilities are all you need. Be wise and choose the right people for the given task. If it’s a task where you need good communication skills, choose employees who are soft-spoken yet witty.
- Delegate authority along with work– It is a proven fact that people work more efficiently when they have the authority. The sense of power makes them want to do more and better. Empower them and you’ll see your work happening at an unexpected pace. Craig Groeschel says, “If you delegate tasks you create followers. If you delegate authority you create leaders”.
- Provide employees with proper knowledge and resources One of the most important steps in the process of delegating is to provide necessary training and resources to employees. Everyone working at your firm should be appropriately skilled. They must have ample knowledge about the mindset required to work efficiently.
- Show your gratitude– Lastly, always be grateful. Appreciating and recognising their work and rewarding them with incentives will boost their productivity. These little things may not seem like a lot, but they influence the ones receiving them.
For more tips on Delegation see this post by BetterUp
See our post on Productivity here