Delegation - The Basic Steps To Reducing Your Workload And Creating A Successful Team

If you have a task greater than you can handle on your own, then you need to delegate. Not a choice many of us choose to make, but one we can all learn. This article will take you through why delegation is so important and give you simple steps to take so that you communicate the vision, motivate your members and build them as individuals and as a successful team.

So let's start with the Whys.

The first is obvious. The task if too big for one person. Or maybe is beyond the skills of that one person.

The second is that there is more chance of success because using other people brings in extra skill-sets, and added enthusiasm.

The third WHY is that delegation gives the leaders in an organisation the chance to develop the latent strengths and talents of their members, giving the organisation a greater pool of skill and potential leaders.

Be prepared before you Delegate

Ensure that you have your vision articulated very precisely. This is the vision that you will use to motivate and enthuse your members. Be very familiar with the place of this particular job in the organisation's plans and objectives.

Run the idea past other members of the Board, or trusted friends, so that they can find any difficulties or flaws. They can refine the idea for you, until it is stronger and more authentic than your original.

Check out the resources available for the job to be delegated.

Understand the whole scenario. Look for the fears that your members may feel, anticipate the problems that might occur, and think through how you will deal with those, what you will say. Look for flaws that might exist in the way you will communicate your plan, and the ways you might be misunderstood. Then you will be prepared enough to present a confident persona when you are motivating those who will share the work.

Match the Job to the Person

How many people will you need?
What kind of history does that person have on previous jobs?
Does this person show enthusiasm and interest in this appointment?
Does this person have the basic intelligence, knowledge and willingness to learn, necessary for the job?
Look for latent skills, strengths, and especially enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Communicating the Vision
If the project is to succeed, everyone needs to see the broader aims of the whole project and the vision involved. Information is vital, but so is communicating the enthusiasm and value of the vision. Communicate the value of the project's success - its value to the organisation and to the people taking on the various tasks. It is also necessary to make the members feel that the vision is theirs as well, that they can contribute to it, and feed it with their own creativity, enthusiasm and hard work.

Motivation
  Communicating the vision involves the use of positive, encouraging language. Use words like believe, confidence in abilities, success. The language needs to communicate strength and positivity both in the enthusiasm for the project and in the faith in the people involved and their ability to achieve their goals. 
  Each person needs to be given the responsibility to achieve the task delegated to them. It will encourage them to contribute wholeheartedly to the job and its success. If the person does not want the responsibility, then perhaps it was not a good decision to delegate to them.
And those who are happy to work with responsibility, will also be motivated by the knowledge that you have the faith that they can achieve the job they have been given.

Expect high standards.
  Make sure each person has the resources and the moral support to achieve their tasks.
  Albert Schweitzer said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing. So lead by example. Take your place on the ground floor and "at the coal face." And if you have middle level managers, give them direct experience of the work and the workplace.

Building the Members of your Team

Bill Gates said, "As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others."We need to look to the individuals in our teams. There's an old saying that a rising tide lifts all boats. If we invest time to raise the level of each team member's performance and feeling of self worth then it will increase the level of the team as well.  This involves looking at each individual, to see what he or she could become. What are the attributes and skills that they possess, possibly without knowing it, and certainly that they do not use. Then it may be necessary to convince them that they can become the person you see within them. It may involve giving them tasks that use the skill or attribute and then pointing out how they used it to succeed. Obviously this means assigning achievable tasks, and certainly ones that do not encourage fear of failure. 

When we are looking at people to whom we can delegate tasks, or who could be part of the team you need, it helps to see them in a positive light - as achievers, good friends, and worthy teammates. It will make it easier to bring out the best in them, rather than thinking of them as losers, and unworthy of our time and friendship. 

Treat all team members differently because they are all different. Each has their own motivation, strengths and weaknesses and emotional intelligence, and will respond to different kinds of treatment. They will also bring the different skills and levels of ability that are needed in any project. 

Build strengths and the feeling of strength.

Building a Team
If the task requires a team, then the best way to organize the team is to produce a group that, as a whole, will be stronger and more successful as a single entity than as the combined efforts of individuals. It means building individuals as we have seen above, but it also involves creating an image of the team as an entity - a valuable entity, one of which the members can be proud. Give each member the words and concepts to use, if necessary, so that they can express that value and that pride.

And encourage each member to encourage, assist and praise the other members of the team. The atmosphere needs to be one of constructive assistance. If it is absolutely necessary to look at errors, or failures or matters of discontent, then they must be examined always in the light of improvement for the future. Face the future always. Constructively.

  © 2005 Bronwyn Ritchie AC(ITC) All rights reserved. If you would like to use this article, you have permission to use it only in full, and only with the following Resource box attached.

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