Delegating is an art in itself – there is no doubt about that. While one person desperately tries to keep all the balls in the air, another employee pours work on them according to the watering can principle. The royal road lies in recognising what can be adopted by others and what cannot. We have compiled the most important points for you.
There is a little story about this that I read the other day. A journalist wants to arrange an interview with the boss of a large company. This is usually difficult, as bosses never have time. This case was different. The journalist asks and gets the desired appointment within two days. On the spot, he notices that there are no piles of files on the boss’s desk, but only documents that are relevant for this interview. The boss did not seem rushed or as if he was under time pressure. When asked by the journalist how it was that the appointment went so quickly, the entrepreneur replied: “I am the boss! My work is the strategy. I delegate everything else.”
Delegating a dream?
Sounds good, doesn’t it? And for some, that is the dream, while the reality is that the boss can hardly save himself from work and that what is actually his job, namely to lead and steer the company, simply comes up short. Of cours, one has to differentiate somewhat. In a small company, the possibilities for delegation are certainly limited. The boss is also in the middle of daily operations. He looks after customers or assembles bicycles. And yet, it is important to filter out the things that are really matters for the boss and to create time slots for them. And this works by delegating other tasks.
Advantages of delegating
- Time saving: When you delegate tasks, you can focus on the most important tasks and save time that you would otherwise waste on less important tasks.
- Competence development: Delegating gives you the opportunity to develop your skills and competences and to master new challenges.
- Stress reduction: When you delegate tasks, you reduce your own workload and the stress associated with it.
- Increasing effectiveness: Delegating tasks can increase overall effectiveness by allowing everyone to focus on the most important tasks.
- Promote a sense of responsibility: When you delegate tasks, you promote a sense of responsibility among your employees, as they are responsible for the successful completion of the tasks.
Traps of delegation
It is important to note that delegating tasks can be effective, but it can also be done wrong. Namely, whenever tasks are delegated to people who are overburdened with them and who do not have the necessary resources. So here are a few tips to help you hand over and delegate properly:
1. step by step
Start with a task that you hand in. Something that you normally do. You use the time you gain exclusively to do something that only you can do.
2. trust!
Discover the special skills of your employees and trust in them. It may even be that your staff can do some tasks better than you can.
3. can instead of must
The worst case scenario for every entrepreneur is that he/she himself/herself breaks down and the work is no longer done. Of course, you don’t usually think about it. But the truth is that it can happen faster than you think. In this respect, it’s better if delegating is a “can do” at first, then it works when it eventually becomes a “must do”.
Conclusion: Delegation is not easy and yet it is indispensable for every manager – regardless of whether there are three employees in the office or whether you manage a company with more than 100 employees. Hand over and concentrate on your core competence and on the strategic management of the company. This way, you not only create a tidy desk, but above all keep an overview.
