Member Article

Delegation and the art of trust

Being able to delegate in a work environment is an important part of growing a business sustainably and successfully. Delegation is defined as assigning responsibility to another person to carry out an activity or task, and this is met with huge barriers from those assigning the task.

There are lots of reasons to delegate, and most are pretty obvious: to save time, empower or just because you have more important things to do. There are three main challenges to overcome to delegate properly.

Trust

This is a big one, so it deserves to be number one. Trust is probably the most significant factor for a person not being able to delegate. I mean, how can you trust someone to do the task as well as you? For some people, trust is a big thing, and it takes the time to earn it. It’s give and take, though. You need to be able to trust a little for someone to win the trust. Tip number one is to start small; delegate simple tasks and build up as confidence is gained.

Time

Why delegate when you’re quicker at doing it yourself? Never heard the saying “two hands are quicker than one”? Some tasks may be quicker to do yourself, but with all the easy tasks being delegated you’re able to focus on the bigger, chunkier ones. Tip number two is to delegate tasks that someone can do, and do efficiently. They’ll end up doing them twice as fast as you.

Skill

Nobody is good at everything. If someone tells you they are then they’re lying, and rubbish at telling the truth. If you can’t do something, delegate. If you’re not skilled enough to do an amazing job, then don’t do it. Give it to someone more qualified. Tip number three - if you can’t do it, find someone who can.

Delegation is important; in fact, it’s so important that sometimes it’s all I do. If I can’t do something, then I’ll find someone who can. If I have simple tasks that a colleague can do twice as fast, I get them to do it.

Building a successful team and business relies on teamwork and a team that works together, recognising each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It is important to be able to understand when a person needs help, or when they need to let go. Trusting that person to delegate is a big thing, but, once you’ve got past that initial hurdle, you’ll have the time to do things you’ve never been able to.

Delegation and the art of trust is written by Mylo Kaye from Dreamr in Manchester. A design and development agency who creates experiences for apps, websites, TV and watch.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Mylo Kaye .