As a people manager, effective delegation is one of your most powerful tools. Delegating tasks not only helps you manage your workload, but it also develops your team, builds trust, and helps you achieve your organisational objectives. However, many managers struggle with delegation, often holding on to tasks they should be passing on or not providing clear enough guidance to their teams.

In this blog, we’ll explore some top tips for effective delegation. Whether you’re a seasoned manager or new to leadership, these strategies will help you delegate more efficiently and reach your goals.

Identify the Right Tasks to Delegate

Not every task should be delegated. The key is to identify what tasks will help you achieve your goals while also contributing to your team’s growth.

• Delegate routine tasks that are time-consuming but don’t require your direct involvement. This will free up your time for more strategic work.
• Delegate tasks that will develop your team members’ skills. Assign tasks that stretch their capabilities and give them the chance to learn new skills or improve existing ones.
• Avoid delegating tasks that are critical to your expertise or require very specific knowledge that your team members don’t have.

By being thoughtful about what to delegate, you can ensure that tasks go to the right person and support both your own objectives and your team’s development.

Choose the Right Person for the Task

Effective delegation isn’t just about passing off work – it’s about choosing the right team member for each task.

• Assess skills and experience. Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your team members. Assign tasks based on their capabilities, while also considering whether they can grow through the task.
• Consider workload. Don’t overload high performers with all the tasks. Balance workloads across the team to avoid burnout.
• Trust your team. Effective delegation means trusting your team members to deliver results. Avoid micromanaging – give them the responsibility and space to perform.

When you assign tasks to the right person, the chances of success increase, and your team members feel valued and trusted.

Set Clear Expectations

One of the most common mistakes managers make when delegating is not being clear about expectations. To avoid confusion and frustration, ensure that you:

• Define the desired outcome. Be clear about what success looks like for each task. Provide a vision of what you want the final product to look like.
• Set deadlines. Specify when the task needs to be completed. If it’s a multi-step project, break it down into smaller deadlines to help keep track of progress.
• Clarify resources and support. Let your team know what resources are available to them and how they can ask for help if needed.

Clear expectations ensure that there’s no ambiguity, reducing the chance of mistakes and misunderstandings.

Provide the Right Level of Autonomy

Delegation doesn’t mean giving up control – it’s about finding the right balance of support and independence.

• Give freedom where appropriate. If your team members are capable, allow them the autonomy to approach the task in their own way. This boosts confidence and fosters a sense of ownership.
• Provide guidance if needed. If the task is new or complex, be available for advice, but avoid micromanaging. Trust your team to get things done, but provide the right level of support to keep them on track.

Effective delegation is about empowering your team to make decisions while providing the necessary backup if things don’t go as planned.

Monitor Progress and Provide Feedback

Delegating doesn’t mean walking away and forgetting about the task. Regular check-ins and feedback are essential to ensuring things are on track.

• Check-in periodically. Set up regular check-ins to discuss progress and any obstacles the team member might be encountering. These check-ins should be constructive, focused on problem-solving, and aimed at maintaining momentum.
• Give constructive feedback. Offer feedback throughout the process, not just at the end. Praise progress and accomplishments, but also discuss potential for improvement.
• Celebrate achievements. Recognise and celebrate successes, whether big or small. This helps build confidence and motivation for future tasks.

By staying involved without being overbearing, you ensure that the task is completed successfully and your team feels supported throughout the process.

Encourage Development and Growth

Effective delegation isn’t just about getting tasks done – it’s also an opportunity to develop your team members.

• Assign challenging tasks. Delegate projects that will stretch your team’s skills and push them outside their comfort zones. This builds confidence and helps them grow professionally.
• Offer learning opportunities. Use delegation as a chance to help team members learn new skills. This will not only help them grow but also benefit the team as a whole.
• Provide mentorship. Share your knowledge and offer guidance as your team members take on more responsibility. This not only helps them succeed but also strengthens your relationship with them.

Delegating with the intention to develop your team leads to stronger performance, higher employee satisfaction, and a more capable workforce in the long term.

Trust Your Team

Trust is at the core of effective delegation. If you don’t trust your team to handle the task, delegation will feel like an exercise in futility.

• Let go of perfectionism. Understand that your team members may not do things exactly the way you would, but that doesn’t mean they won’t do a good job.
• Encourage independence. Trust that your team will take ownership of their tasks and problem-solve when necessary. Giving them responsibility fosters loyalty and boosts motivation.
• Respect their expertise. When you delegate, you’re not just handing off tasks – you’re acknowledging the skills and knowledge of your team members.

Building trust through delegation not only boosts your team’s confidence but also fosters a positive work culture where everyone feels empowered to contribute.

Reflect and Improve

After delegating a task, take the time to reflect on how it went and identify areas for improvement.

• Evaluate outcomes. Did the task meet expectations? Were there any challenges or surprises? Use this as a learning opportunity to refine your delegation process in the future.
• Seek feedback from your team. Ask your team members for their perspective on the delegation process. What went well? What could have been improved?

Reflection ensures that you’re continually evolving as a manager and improving the way you delegate.

Conclusion

Delegating effectively is essential for any people manager who wants to develop their team, achieve their objectives, and build trust. By identifying the right tasks to delegate, choosing the right person, setting clear expectations, and providing the necessary support, you can empower your team to succeed. At the same time, you’ll free up your own time to focus on high-priority tasks, improve team dynamics, and foster a culture of growth and accountability. Delegation is a skill that takes practice, but by following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a more effective, trusted, and inspiring leader. If you need guidance on how to delegate effectively, or your team need training in this area, get in touch.

Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People® has been referenced over many years.  First published in 1989, it’s been reissued multiple times since then, and has been adapted / spun out in to targeted versions, for example focussing on teenagers, families, journals, workbooks and card decks.  He continued to release books up to a year before he passed away in 2012, leaving a legacy of effective leadership principles.

What’s it about?

Covey seems to have had a genuine wish to help others and lead by example by closely following the principles of the habits himself. He provides practical advice, which requires us to look inside ourselves.  Reading the habits, we may already find that we’re on the right track.

What are the 7 habits?

There’s much more to the habits in the book, however here is a flavour of the 7 habits:

Habit 1: Be Proactive®

Take responsibility for your life. This habit encourages us to move away from blaming external factors and responding to them in a reactive way. We should use proactive language; I will, I can etc.  and our energy should be focussed on things we can control.  The first step is to build awareness of where we expend our energy now, so we can develop into a more proactive approach.

Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind®

We will not feel successful, if we achieve things which are not where we wanted to end up.  We need to focus on what we want, and how we want to live, and then use the 1^st Habit of proactivity to get there.

Habit 3: Put First Things First®

This is where the 1^st and 2^nd Habits come together, and we can make decisions about what we will and won’t do.  We don’t have to do everything, it’s about choosing proactively what you will do, and prioritising accordingly. These decisions will be made based on our purpose, values and role, with the end in mind.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win®

Be co-operative and collaborative.  It’s a mindset which means that we seek mutual benefit with our solutions.  Covey identifies 3 character traits; Integrity, Maturity and Abundance Mentality (believing there is plenty for everyone). It doesn’t have to be either / or, both parties can ‘win’. Further character traits identified are empathy, confidence, consideration, sensitivity and bravery, which all underpin real Maturity.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood®

Communication is key, but this Habit is more focussed on listening, and really understanding others.  We all want to get our point across, but in doing so we may not listen to the other person properly.  This means we may miss their meaning or make assumptions, based on our own point of view.

Habit 6: Synergize®

This is about teamwork, being openminded and finding new solutions. This is best done with multiple contributors who all bring different insights and experiences.  The principle of ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’ is in play here.  Valuing differences is important to achieve synergy. It might feel uncomfortable initially, as there may be disagreements, but the outcome will be more interesting and successful.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw®

This means preserving and enhancing ourselves in 4 different areas of life: physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual.  We need to grow in each of these areas, for example through healthy lifestyle choices, making social connections, reading, learning, spending time in the natural world, music and art. By growing in these areas we become more able to deal with challenges, grow and continue to build on the other 6 Habits.

Although a lot of focus of adopting the 7 Habits has been on implementing these principles in leadership and management, they can apply to all of us.  After all, the title of the book is simply to make us highly effective people, whether you’re a junior executive or business owner.  If you’re new to a leadership role, read one of our previous blogs to get some practical leadership tips.

Parents and carers were given the legal right to make a flexible working request in 2002. From 2014 any employee with over 26 weeks’ continuous employment with their employer has the right to request flexible working. However according to a recent CIPD report, Megatrends: Flexible Working, the number of employees working flexibly has flat-lined since 2010.

Why not be flexible?

Apprehension and at times downright negativity about flexible working is not unusual. Requests to work fewer hours, compressed hours and/or working from home often provoke this response. This is particularly the case if the employee making the request manages other employees. Employee visibility is the issue and managers think if they can’t see their staff, they don’t know they’re working. Managers question their employee’s honesty, convinced they will be ‘out shopping, or walking the dog when they should be working’.

Where does this lack of trust come from? Employers need consider if they expect employees to deal with work outside of their contractual working hours. If they expect flexibility but don’t reciprocate due to a lack of trust, employee goodwill will wane.

Reciprocal flexibility works

Perhaps this is a bit extreme, but trusted flexibility can work both ways to the benefit of everyone. It just requires a bit of extra thought about how it can work. If employees want flexibility and their employer gives it to them, their engagement, loyalty and commitment will increase. If employers refuse requests, employees will ask why they should go the extra mile when the company isn’t prepared to do the same for them. They will be less motivated and may begin to ‘work to rule’ or look for a job elsewhere. I don’t think any employer would want that outcome, especially at a time when the ‘war for talent’ seems tougher than ever.

Managing flexible employees

It’s a reality that some jobs really can’t be done flexibly, but every requests need to be considered properly, to see if it can be accommodated. Managers are often concerned about managing less visible employees. But if outcome-based objectives are set, it should be easy to identify and address a dip in performance levels. It’s entirely possible that managers feel overstretched and feel they don’t have the time or energy to consider how it might work. But companies that provide flexibility will benefit from increased talent retention, engagement and productivity. At a time when there are reported skills shortages, surely it’s worth the effort?

If you would like help managing flexible working in your company, or support in dealing with a request, please do get in touch.

Apparently this coming Monday, 15^th January 2018, is ‘Blue Monday’, the most depressing day of the year.  January can be a tough month after the (hopefully) joyous Festive Period and a welcome break from work. But can we really pick one day out of the 31 in January, or the 365 in the year, and say that this coming Monday 15^th January 2018 is the most depressing of all?

The science bit

The term Blue Monday was, so we’re told, invented by the marketing team at Sky Travel in 2005 in an attempt to encourage people to buy a holiday at a quiet time of year. There’s even a formula for calculating the date, which includes weather, debt, days ‘til payday, time since Christmas, resolutions broken. It also includes some feeling factors which somewhat compromise the ‘science bit’.

Resistance is not futile

There’s definitely a case for rebellion here. January is tough, but we shouldn’t be told how to feel on a particular day, should we? There are enough challenges to face in this fast-moving world, so let’s all resist this phenomenon! To help us, there’s even a website dedicated to encouraging positive acts on Blue Monday.

Blue at work

The Blue Monday phenomenon does have potential implications for businesses. There may be many people who believe the hype and expect to feel blue on Monday 15th January 2018. And purely for this reason, they may succumb to the negative feelings Blue Monday is designed to exploit.

Be part of the solution

What can employers do to counter these negative feelings? We live in a time when businesses are struggling and ‘austerity’ feels like it has become part of our culture. So how can you motivate a workforce who are feeling the pinch and maintain positivity at work?

There’s no easy, one-size fits all answer. People are motivated in different ways, whether it’s hitting advertising targets and achieving bonus, or receiving accolades for good performance.

Top tips

Here are 5 top tips that should support the rebellion against Blue Monday:

• Spend time getting to know your team as individuals. Find out hat they enjoy, what motivates them, how they like to be recognised.
• Make sure you diarise regular 1-1s with your team for the year. Show your commitment to them through the giving of your time.
• Give thought to what you can do to help them achieve their career aspirations. It may be development, training, work-shadowing, job swapping, coaching and/or action planning. There are many possibilities to consider.
• Start the year with a team meeting to share ideas and make a plan for the year ahead to which everyone can contribute.
• Consider a physical activity, to get those endorphins flowing, maybe a team walk at lunchtime, or a sponsored activity which everyone can engage in.

These top tips should help to create a positive working environment where employees can flourish at any time of year. Developing an open, inclusive work place where everyone feels valued will definitely help to build this positivity.

So, while these top tips won’t necessarily stop people from being conned into feeling Blue on this coming Monday, it might help in the longer term.

If you would like to find out more about what you can do to build a positive working environment, we can help, so do get in touch with Helpful HR.