By YEC
Effective delegation strengthens your team and frees up your time.
Delegating is a fundamental skill that every leader must hone in order to effectively manage people and achieve organizational goals. However, not all delegation methods are the same.
Here, 8 Council for Young Entrepreneurs members share the key strategies that are most effective for leaders when it comes to delegating tasks and responsibilities to their teams.
Learning to delegate is an important part of being a leader, but which strategy did you find most effective for delegating tasks and responsibilities to your team, and why?
1. Focus on activities you are good at
Take a step back and think about: A) what you do really well; B) what you like to do; and C) what is the best use of your time from an ROI perspective. Map this out in a Venn diagram. It’s very likely that there’s enough overlap in the middle (the space occupied by A, B, and C) to fill your days and then some. Delegate everything else. —Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers personal finance
2. Give clear, concise instructions
One specific strategy that has been effective for me in delegating tasks and responsibilities to my team is to provide clear and concise instructions. When delegating a task, I make sure that I explain the expectations, desired results and any resources required. Equally important, I always make sure to make myself available for any questions that may arise during the completion of the job. —Andrew Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings
3. Balance delegation and micromanaging
The key to effectively delegating tasks and responsibilities to your team is striking the right balance between delegating and micromanaging. It’s not enough just to delegate tasks to your team; you should also be able to provide guidance and support when needed to make things work best for you. —Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
4. Assign tasks to the right people
One mistake business leaders make is putting too much work on the wrong person’s plate. As a result, the best-performing team members with the most unique skills fill their time with low-level responsibilities or tedious manual tasks simply because they can do them quickly. If this sounds familiar to you, you could be wasting precious resources. —Solomon Thimotheus, OneIMS
5. Organize bi-weekly meetings to discuss projects
There is a time and place for delegation, and when I was a young entrepreneur, I delegated as soon as an idea came to my mind. Now I have scheduled bi-weekly one-on-one meetings to discuss what needs to be delegated, the priority level for each task, due dates, and what matters to submit for a later date. This is a more efficient and consistent way of delegating. —Givelle Lamano, Oakland DUI Attorneys
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6. Model the behavior you would like to see
Keep in mind that if you don’t do what you say, your team won’t do what you do. The most effective delegation strategy for me is to be absolutely crystal clear about what I’m going to do while other tasks are assigned. At our SEO agency, everyone wears their respective hats according to title and ability, and the culture supports healthy delegation, but it’s really important that I show up too. —Matthew Kapala, alphametic
7. Assess each team member’s skills
Assessing your team’s skills and capabilities before delegating tasks and responsibilities is one of the most effective strategies. This allows you to find the right person for the right job and minimize the chance of setbacks over time. Analyzing the characteristics of your team according to different roles helps to increase productivity and makes it possible to easily identify areas for improvement. —Stephanie Wells, Formidable shapes
8. Delegate results, not tasks
Ask your team members if they have clarity on what success looks like and then have them repeat it for you. Confirm with them that they have the tools, time and training to achieve the said outcome. Then get out of the way so they can execute. Hold them accountable for the outcome, not the task or activity. —Devesh Dwivedi, DeveshDwivedi.com
About the author
Council for Young Entrepreneurs (YEC) is an invite-only organization made up of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs.
