You may be busy, but you know what you’re doing. You’ve worked on certain tasks so many times, you can do them in your sleep. The problem is, one person can’t do it all, and over time, you’ll find that the more hours you spend on the mundane tasks associated with your job, the less time you have to work on business-building activities.
In her new course, Time Management: Learn How to Manage Your Time So It Will Not Manage You, Dr. Maggie Sizer provides a 12-module course that equips professionals with the tools they need to be more productive. One of the most important tools for leaders is learning to delegate to the capable employees on their teams. Below are four tips recommended in her course.
Know Your Resources
The first step in delegating is deciding which tasks to pass along. Look at your daily to-do list and consider which items could be easily handed over. Do a quick inventory of your team and their skills, then make a decision about which tasks you’ll hand off to which employee. Over time, you’ll get even better at understanding the capabilities of your team.
Think Long-Term
It can be easy to do things on your own, especially if you can finish a task in minutes versus your team member taking hours to do it. This is where it can help to look at the big picture. Sure, it may take the person longer to do something the first time, but the expertise that person gains will make it even easier the next time that task comes up. Be patient and give your employees time to learn what you took weeks, months, or even years to learn.
Keep Communication Open
It can be tempting to hand a duty off and forget about it. After all, that’s the point of delegating, right? But it’s important to make sure your team members know that you’re available if they have any questions. Check in every now and then to see if your employees have any questions but resist the urge to look over shoulders.
Review the Finished Product
When your employee turns in the work, chances are it won’t be the same as it would have been if you’d completed the task yourself. At this point, it’s important to take the time to review the work and discuss with the team member exactly what could have been done better. Even if the work was far off base, resist the urge to just do it yourself the next time. Chances are, the feedback you gave will ensure the worker does things much better when given a second and third shot at it.
Dr. Maggie Sizer is an HR expert with more than 15 years of experience in working with business professionals and students. Her course, Time Management: Learn How to Manage Your Time So It Will Not Manage You, will walk you through the many ways you can squeeze more minutes out of each day. Best of all, you can take the course completely online.
