5 reasons why you need to delegate more
On a scale of 1-10, how good are you at delegating?
I recently asked a group of leaders this question in a training session.
Their responses ranged from a 2/10, which means I really don’t delegate at all, to an 8/10, which means I delegate consistently.
What is your number on a scale of 1-10? How good are you at delegating?
Before I convince you that you need to delegate more, let’s look at the business case for delegation.
Why is it an important leadership skill?
Well, it can help to:
- Manage your workload
- Provide you with more time to focus on your strategic tasks
- Grow and develop your people
- Build a more efficient team with the workload distributed among many people
- Develop a more collaborative and cohesive team
Now, let’s discuss your delegation score.
Your goal is not necessarily to get to a 10/10 on the delegation scale. I’d like to stretch you so you can move your score about two to three numbers higher than where you are today.
So, if you are a 5/10, consider what you can do to get to a 7/10.
Here are three strategies that you can leverage to delegate more effectively:
- Don’t use an all-or-nothing approach. Start small. Delegate a piece of the project, and then, over time, add more items.
- Don’t strive for perfection. When you delegate, remember that the end product won’t be perfect. Many leaders look for 110%, which is unrealistic. When your colleague is learning a new task, it will take them time to improve this new skill.
- Don’t dump and disappear. Delegation requires coaching. Often, leaders will delegate a task without providing any direction or support. If someone is new to a task, even if they are a senior person, they will require some guidance from you in order to be successful.
So, what task, activity or project do you need to delegate?
Remember that if you delegate to the right person… they may even complete the task or project better than you have in the past!
