How to Properly Delegate Tasks
Helen Lee Schifter, the former arbitrage trader and management consultant, is a coach and adviser on creating a life that includes pursuing your own calling and a sensible work-life balance. Helen Lee shares her insights for running a business and achieving success in the job market with Wall Street Journal readers. As an innovative management consultant, she draws on her knowledge and experience to assist businessmen and career women. Helen Lee brings years of experience in business to reveal the most successful techniques that will help you get ahead of your peers.
1. Clearly Articulate the Desired Outcome
Helen Lee suggests that one of the most important steps in effectively delegating tasks is clearly defining their desired outcome. This can be even more important than the actual Task. She believes that people who clearly articulate the outcome and how it is to be achieved will have a better chance of success. She said that leaders should be able to tell just as much, if not more, about what they want as what they don’t want.
2. Make sure They Have the Correct Person for the Task
Helen Lee cautions that leaders should adequately identify the person who has to do a specific task before delegating it. If the leader knows what he wants to achieve but gives it to the wrong person, there is little hope for success no matter how well the Task is done. If a leader has so little information regarding how a task needs to be done, Schifter believes he should probably not delegate it in the first place.
3. Give Them Clear Direction to Guide their Decisions
Giving people clear instructions can help a leader delegate tasks effectively. To do this, Helen suggests that the leader should provide people with clear instructions on what is expected of them and the deadline for completion. She also offers a few other things that can also help leaders delegate more effectively, such as having someone assigned as a monitor to make sure the Task is doing what it needs to do on a schedule or having someone keep track of any mistakes or problems encountered in the delegation so that they are dealt with quickly and efficiently.
3. Delegate Small Tasks First
Helen suggests that leaders should delegate small tasks first and then build confidence in their staff by seeing that the work gets done. This will also give you an idea of how well they do the job, speed, and react under pressure. It is important to note that these tasks should be things that show off the person’s attributes, not flaws that you might want to correct. Delegating small tasks first shows a leader’s confidence in his staff member, making them feel more comfortable and confident.
Helen believes that delegating effectively is an art. She claims that the most influential leaders know how to delegate and instinctively know the right people for the job. Helen Lee Schifter says, “Letting go of tasks to other people is a skill that requires a great deal of practice, and not everyone will “get it.” Delegating should be an essential part of your work life. Getting people to do the work you want to be done is always a good idea when trying to achieve goals in your own life and career.
