7 effective ways to master the art of delegation!
Why is it important to delegate?
Imagine a scenario, where you are stuck on an island, hungry, tired and deserted. There is just one boat and one row that is going to take you across the shore, to life, food, happiness and abundance. But you won’t leave the island because your hands are too full with the coconuts you gathered at the island.Empty shells that only weigh you down and won’t let you get anywhere.
Such is life if you don’t delegate, if you won’t shed off, to pick on something new and amazing. Such is life when you won’t or cannot delegate.
For all those who are looking for a change, a shift at work, I’d suggest you try these rules of delegation:
Delegate with love
It’s very easy to pick up an authoritative tone in a corporate setup. However no one responds too well to that kind of arrogance. While you delegate work, always do so mindfully. When I say mindfully, what I am trying to highlight here is that try to be a little compassionate and a little firm at the same time. Assign task with mutual respect for the person and remember the fact that he/she is contributing significantly to your work. That will help you tap into some love automatically. When you do so with an attitude of gratitude, the respect is resonated with sincerity and diligence.
Give the person a sense of responsibility
Everyone responds well to a sense of accomplishment, a sense of ‘I’ am responsible for so and so. While delegating a task to someone give the person a feeling of ownership. Give him the ‘you are in charge’ freedom and look straight into his eyes with a convincing look that you believe in him and his capability. Just say ‘I am counting on you’. Has anybody ever uttered those words to you? Imagine the feeling that surges within you at that moment. Yes that’s what you got to sow.
Be detached and have faith
Often amongst the other inhibitions about delegating is your attachment to your baby. You think, na you know, no one can take care of it the way you do and that’s probably even true. But don’t you want your baby to grow? So c’mon now and let go. When we are too attached to results, to always having it right and when we get emotional we are often deluded. We don’t see things for what they truly are. One must learn to detach and assign a task piece by piece, step by step to someone whom you think has the right skill set, right temperament and attitude.
While you are taking that big step have a little faith, in yourself that if it goes wrong you have what it takes to fix it , and have faith that the other person has what it takes to deliver it.
Be secure
You cannot delegate from an insecure place. In the corporate world specially, people tend to take on more work than they can deliver only because they want to be the critical person in charge , without whom the organisation will not function or no one else can do better at the role they are assigned to. We all know what makes you irreplaceable, and that is excellence and not doing too much work stemming from insecurity.
However it’s only a human emotion to feel this way, don’t beat yourself up, just recognize and deal with your insecurities thoughtfully. Ask a few questions, why do I want to stay where I am today? What makes me not want to give this away? Is that other person really better than me? Is there any way I can improve at what I am doing today? Do something to make you feel better and confident, like take up the certification, push yourself to do that challenging exercise.
Once you identify your fears you’ll figure a way to work it out. After all only when you delegate you can make space for something new to come your way. Another way to feel secure is also have a plan B in place, just in case.
Provide every detail, but leave room for creativity
When you are working with a new person, I’d say spend some time getting to know the person.I know it may sound weird, but a couple of minutes to understand his nature and personality will help you gauge whether the person will be a good fit and if he will deliver as expected.
In cases when you don’t have a choice but to work with this person, study him harder to find your way out with this person. Every person has a need, identify what he responds best to. You’ll know what next to do. [no I am not promoting bribery here]. For e.g. some people are the creative kinds they need their space and will work best in a no pressure environment, some people don’t like to use their brains but are great at taking instructions. They will do exactly as you ask them to do, some respond only to escalations and big names and you know what to do there!
Personally I feel nothing is wrong or right and everyone has their set of pros and cons but once you know, you‘ll know.
Give all, but keep some-getting it done!
Finally after all the analysis, when you truly have to get shit done, be assertive and firm with the deadlines. Make them feel comfortable that if things are not going as per the plan, they can raise an alarm well in time and that you will take it in your stride. That you’ll provide support and everything they need to get this done.
This creates a healthy bond and keeps you away from the blame game. Time can be used more efficiently for some risk mitigation. Do an occasional nonchalant pulse check, to get a sense but don’t overwhelm.
Honest appreciation and feedback
Lastly give the person an honest feedback about his work. If he has done a good job, write that appreciation mail that comes from your heart, not a fake one with empty words. If you want to give some feedback say something nice first, followed by how ‘we’ can make it better next time. Don’t be over critical and just be genuine.
Delegation can be fun and it can be your next big step to growth, you must just know how.
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