How to Delegate for Maximum Efficiency
Photo Credits: J Favel
Productivity is less about plowing through a series of tasks on a to-do list and more about efficiently and effectively accomplishing the work you are skilled at doing. When using your strengths in work, you are more likely to work faster, with higher-quality results, feel better about your work and allow your team members to shine in their areas of strength. However, if you attempt to be excellent at everything, you are more likely to work slower, with lower-quality results, feel less confident in your work and prevent your team from being able to assist in their areas of expertise.
Proper delegation is not about transferring your work to someone else, but about allowing yourself time to do what you do best, while doing the same for others on your team. This will result in better outcomes overall.
How to determine what to delegate and what to take on yourself:
- Determine what skills you have and what areas you are not as strong. To start, consider what you enjoy working on and what you do not, this could be an indication of where you have expertise.
- Determine what tasks do not match your skillset, then delegate those tasks to team members who have the skills to match the task.
- Hone in on your responsibilities. Now that you do not have to worry about working on tasks you are not especially skilled in, you can focus more on your own work and produce the highest-quality results.
As the leader, you will still have to oversee the work being done by your team, which will require you to be involved in the process for tasks you delegate. But overall, you will have more time to focus on the work you enjoy and are most skilled at doing. To be most successful, implement a long-term delegation strategy that will allow you and your team to settle into the arrangement and to feel empowered in their personal responsibilities.