PAPERmaking! g! FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PAPER TECHNOLOGY ® Volume 9, Number 2, 2023
x Top-right quadrant: urgent and important. Do these tasks (yourself). x Top-left quadrant: urgent, but not as important. Delegate these tasks! x Bottom-right quadrant: important, but not so urgent. Schedule these for a later time/date. x Bottom-left: not particularly urgent or important. Delete them. Top tip: this is a great way to start or end your working week. It helps you keep everything on your radar and decide what to do with things before they stagnate in your inbox for too long. Approach two: apply a little curiosity Grab your to-do list and remove all the ones you have to do yourself. But not so fast! Take a little time to reflect on why you believe you can't delegate those tasks. Ask yourself some of the following questions to help you finetune your delegation process. x If no one else has the skills to do this task, should we train/hire someone who does? x If no one else has the authority/oversight required to do this task, can it be broken down into smaller tasks that others can help with? x If this will be particularly challenging for someone else to do, is there anyone who could benefit from using this as an opportunity for development? Then, you can either move that task (or some of it) into your ‘to delegate’ pile, or keep it on your own to -do list. Remember, this is just for tasks that you think you can't delegate. Ones you're sure you can delegate do not necessarily need to fit any of the those criteria. So now you’ve got a list of tasks to delegate, you need to actually start doing it. Let’s assume you know who in your team is best suited to take on each task - or you’re happy for them to decide among themselves. How do you go about shuffling it out of your inbox, and into theirs? Delegating leadership style Your leadership style will inform how you delegate tasks. In the situational leadership model, however, one of the four types of leadership is the ‘delegating leadership style’. The same model suggests that the best managers adapt their approach through all four types of leadership. So, whatever your leadership style, here’s what you can learn (and apply) from that approach. The benefits of delegation Managers who show delegating leadership style behaviours are comfortable with sharing responsibility and authority with their team members. They delegate tasks, then allow their teammates to carry out those tasks with support and advice rather than strict instructions. This is a particularly powerful way to build up employees’ self confidence, and to help them feel mastery over their work - which in turn results in higher motivation. It’s a win -win situation, if you can get it right! And getting it right means relaxing your control over the how things get done, and just focussing on the outcomes. Here are some pretty nailed-on tactics to ensure you give yourself and your employee the best chance of If the task has landed in your lap and you’re delegating it to someone more junior than you, it could be a great opportunity for them. They could learn some valuable new skills, work on a new project or otherwise just relish the chance to show you what they can do. So choose the task and the employee carefully, and set them up for success. It’s okay to stretch someone and give them a challenge; it’s not a good idea to overwhelm them or ask them to do something that’s outside of their skills, experience or comfort level. success, so that letting going of control doesn't feel so scary. Delegat e tasks that play to your employees’ strengths Additionally, factor in the time it will take to do the task well. Remember, someone else may take slightly longer to complete the task than you would, especially if it’s new to them. But they will get faster with experience, and the whole point of delegating is to get it off of your to-do list. Work in a little extra time, and make sure the person you are delegating to has the capacity to do a great job.
Article 11 – Delegation
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