In order to be an effective manager, you need to have good delegating practices. It is important to choose the most appropriate person for each task so you must know your people and understand their potential. If you broaden their responsibilities in areas that interest them they will be more engaged and happier. In addition, helping employees to fulfill their potential gives them more confidence and boosts the achievement of the whole team.
Here are some tips to consider:
- Provide training: Whatever the job and regardless of its complexity or simplicity, make sure your team is properly trained so that they can carry out the tasks well and not get frustrated by not having what they need or knowing what to do.
- Communicate clearly: Make sure that your team members understand their responsibilities, roles, and deadlines when undertaking any job. Also, when possible, try to put assignments in the context of other jobs or tasks in your business so that everyone understands how their work fits into the big picture. It helps to ask questions and get feedback once you have finished your explanation to ensure that each team member is clear about the task assigned and your expectations. Also, it is a good idea to make yourself available to answer questions or provide more guidance if an issue does come up.
- Allow for individuality: Not everyone works the way you do. It is a good idea to allow team members to do thing their way as long as the job gets done as you wish and in the indicated time frame, it is not essential that it be done exactly as you would do it. Instead, achieving the goal should be the objective; not how someone gets there. When you enable someone to work the way they prefer they have a greater sense of ownership for the work and are more likely to succeed.
- Check-in: It is a good idea to periodically follow up to make sure that the assigned work is on track and also so that you can provide assistance if necessary. You can even inquire ahead of time how often or when they would like to have the check-in.
- Show appreciation: Everyone wants to feel appreciated over and above just getting a paycheck. It is good practice to recognize your team members for a job well done and for their contributions to helping grow the business. You also can reward good work with a bonus, time off, attendance at a conference or some other way that shows you appreciate their efforts.
Everyone you hire brings unique capabilities to the table. When you delegate and give people the opportunity to do their work in their own way, you unleash those talents and skill sets for the benefit of both the individuals and your business…..in other words, it is a win/win for everyone!
