Delegate employees properly: 10 tips for better communication

The ability, Tasks Giving to others is crucial to personal Success. However, this does not always work smoothly and without misunderstandings. Tips on how to do tasks and Set communicates properly to others.

What the ex-head of state says about delegating

The Idea this post came to me when i was some time ago interviewed former Icelandic head of state Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. She shared with me her secret of how to raise a child and Career under one roof: organization. You have to cooperate with others and seek help.

That's when I realized how important the ability to delegate work to others is to your own success. All discussions about Time management-Tools, aids and to-do lists are obsolete if you can't hand over tasks that you can no longer manage yourself. Or to do it with dm-Founders Götz Werner, who said exactly that at Republica 2010, in a somewhat provocative way: “You to earn only Money, when others work for you.”

What the ability to delegate says about success

The fact is, success is not determined solely by a person's ability to complete each task on their own. Effective management means, first and foremost, knowing when and how to delegate responsibility to others. Delegation is a crucial component of the Guidewho it Companys enables their goals through Teamwork to be achieved more efficiently and effectively.

Effective delegation can help increase productivity increaseto encourage teamwork Stress reduce and improve the quality of work. It allows you to focus on your core tasks and use your time more efficiently. By delegating tasks to other team members, you can increase their professional growth support financially, Trust build and create a sense of ownership and accountability. In addition, you can through the delegation Power Leverage the skills and capabilities of your team members, leading to better results and a more productive workforce.

Why delegating tasks isn't as easy as it sounds

However, delegating tasks is not as easy as it seems and it takes considerable skill to delegate properly. Delegation is an important tool for managers to increase productivity and efficiency by offloading some of their workload to other team members. However, delegating the right tasks to the right people is critical to success. Incorrect delegation can lead to confusion, missed deadlines and poor quality work. Therefore, it is important for you as a manager to know the importance of properly delegating tasks.

Ultimately, the delegation of tasks is a complex process that requires careful attention Planning and execution required. Many managers make the mistake of delegating tasks without proper guidance, leading to confusion, delays and ultimately poor results. Effective delegation, on the other hand, means identifying the right tasks and people to delegate, klare Giving instructions on what to do and regularly monitoring progress.

Delegate: Between fear and half-heartedness

The fact that I am writing about one “ability” is no coincidence: many People find it difficult to delegate tasks to others and thus to a certain extent Control to deliver. Of course, trust in others cannot be learned overnight. But once you have successfully handed over the first smaller tasks, you will see that over time it becomes easier and easier to hand over control. And always remember: If you cannot do the work yourself for reasons of time or want to save time in a work step, there is no way around handing over tasks to others. So you don't have any Choicethan dealing with the topic of delegation.

However, I very often experience that delegation is only carried out half-heartedly: although the work is passed on, it is implicitly expected that the work will be done exactly as you would do it - but without expressly expressing it. Not everything you say when you delegate a task to others is understood exactly as you mean it. And often enough, the correct execution of the task suffers from the fact that the other person simply misunderstood the matter. Or, as the saying goes in linguistics: What matters is not what was meant, but how the other person understands it.

The difficulties lie in communication

Delegating therefore does not mean that you simply give instructions according to the motto: "Do this until the day after tomorrow!" Even if you do that as a Executive theoretically, you shouldn't say it that way, as the command tone is seldom well received.

Of course, this approach is even less appropriate if you want to ask a peer to do some work for you. In any case, it is better if you lead a constructive one Conversation with the person concerned and ask for surethat everything is understood exactly - because only then can you be sure that the task will be carried out the way you mean it.

10 tips for proper delegation

There are different approaches to delegating properly. We have compiled the 10 most important tips.

• Select: It starts with the selection of the person to whom you assign the task. This should be well considered: can you fully trust this person? Does she have similar values ​​and goals as you do, is she motivated similarly? It is not for nothing that a hot battle for the best brains rages in companies: It is actually the most difficult part of the whole thing to find the right person for a task.
• Differentiate: There are jobs that are easier to delegate than others. This includes routine tasks such as typing or organizing. Special tasks that you are not familiar with yourself should also be delegated to specialists. You should generally do other tasks yourself: For example, those in which you are needed as a person, such as representation tasks or dealing with customers.
• Motivate: A basic problem is that the other person may not approach the matter with the same level of motivation as yourself. The matter is not as important to him as it is to you. You can't change that and you shouldn't expect too much, but you can motivate yourself: Tell your employee why you just handed the task over to him. This trust is motivating.
• Clear announcement: One reason why delegating often goes wrong is because of misunderstandings. Make it clear what exactly should be done. Discuss all requirements regarding quantity and quality. Pay attention to precise formulations, avoid relativising plasticizers and make sure by asking that the other person has understood everything. "I want you to work through file X, which is now on my desk, for me by 12 noon tomorrow, and to write down any contradicting information." Do not confuse clear work instructions with control: the other person should know what to do, but do not deny them the ability to think for themselves. A tightrope walk.
• Describe the goal: Make sure you describe the goal, not the process itself. You may be able to make some suggestions for execution. The other person has the freedom to decide how he wants to do the work. This personal responsibility promotes motivation. "I expect the presentation to be ready by tomorrow."
• Inform: Make sure not only that you place the order in an understandable manner, but also that you include everything that is important for its execution: “So that you know what it is about, I would like to provide you with the following facts and information ... The following materials… ”Do not assume that the other person has already received important information, but make sure, for example by asking, that this is really the case.
• Set goals together: If possible, determine the time of completion together with the other: “I would be very happy if the task was completed by the end of the week. What is your schedule? When can the task be finished?… The day after tomorrow? Well, let's set this date… ”If that doesn't work, explain why the end date has already been set:“ Unfortunately, I can't give a longer deadline because the customer insists on the corresponding delivery date ... ”
• Make the sense clear: People do not like to do work, the meaning of which they do not understand. Therefore, make it explicitly clear what the purpose of this work step is and why the task is important. If the other person understands this, he will work much better. But don't forget that employees may have different goals and ideas than you yourself. So always try to convey to others why achieving this goal also benefits you personally.
• To ask: Did the other person really understand what to do and how? Is he as motivated as you imagine? You should make sure of this, instead of simply trusting that you will be fine. But be careful: the sound makes the music. Never get pampy if the other person does not react as you imagined. This only demotivates unnecessarily.
• If things go wrong: Delegating can also go horribly wrong. Then it doesn't help to get angry, but to deal with the problem constructively. Ask yourself: "Have I always taken the time to explain the task in detail?" Another person may not have done something to your satisfaction simply because they did not understand how you imagined the result.