Managing a team, regardless of its size, is perhaps one of the most worrisome tasks for every manager. A team comprises members having different opinions, thought processes, experiences, skillset, educational backgrounds, and so on. Due to this, managers often find it difficult to bring everyone on the same page. As a result, the overall team productivity, efficiency, and performance are affected in a negative manner. Besides, the lack of cooperation between team members and poor communication further make it cumbersome for managers to assign tasks, meet benchmarks, and create milestones.
This is where the art of delegation comes into play. Considered an imperative skill for every team manager, effective delegation is known to provide several benefits. Owing to this, we have further illustrated the art of delegation, methods, benefits, and other relevant aspects.
What Is Art Of Delegation In Team Management?
The art of delegation or better known as “Effective Delegation” is assigning responsibilities and tasks to the team members with the goal of individual empowerment, enhanced productivity, improved performance, skill development, and consistent output. For instance, a team manager receives a list of initiatives that need to be delivered within the next sprint release. It is his responsibility to assess the members’ skills and areas of expertise and accordingly assign the initiatives. To ensure streamlined delegation, a team manager should maintain proper communication, feedback channels, and a relationship of trust and reliability.
What Are The Two Types Of Effective Delegation In Team Management?
Following are the two types of effective delegation that team managers should exercise properly for the betterment.
- Delegation for development: Through this, the team manager assigns tasks or responsibilities to employees who are not skilled enough. It ensures individual development and poses a challenge for the assignees. Apart from this, managers have to invest a considerable amount of effort and time in guiding the individuals, solving their problems, and communicating with them every now and then.
- Delegation for result: Here, the team manager assigns tasks and responsibilities to the members who are skilled enough to handle the duties and deliver the work without fail. Since the employees are aware of what needs to be done, managers won’t have to put too much effort into training. However, they should assess the requirements and the skills of the employees before task delegation.
What Are The Benefits Of Effective Delegation In Team Management?
- Delegating the responsibilities and tasks allow managers to effectively handle all the workflows without exhausting themselves. This further enhances the overall team productivity as everyone gets engaged to deliver the expected results.
- The team members gain a sense of ownership and accountability when they are instructed to handle tasks on their own. It is crucial for overall team growth as it boosts confidence and allows members to actively take the delegated responsibilities.
- Through delegation for development techniques, team managers can challenge the employees and nurture their skills. This boosts the overall team morale and prepares the members to take on challenging tasks without any hassle.
- With the tasks delegated to the members, team managers can divert their focus on strategic thinking and more pressing matters. As a result, the decision-making skill improves further and managers won’t have to worry about making any wrong call regarding the project or the tasks delegated.
How Effective Delegation Can Be Made Successful?
Following are some of the ways in which team managers can effectively delegate responsibilities and tasks for optimal success.
- Feedback channel: Managers should use proper software that tracks employee feedback and generates reports accordingly. This way they can know if the members are facing any hurdle while completing the duties assigned to them or not. It will also help them to provide prompt responses and guide the employees accordingly.
- Real-time tracking: Several applications are there that allow team managers to track the employee performance and status of the delegated tasks in real-time scenarios. For example, Jira can be used to track the business initiatives in each sprint, assign tasks to the team members, track the progress, and so on.
- Streamlined communication: Team managers should arrange a daily standup call with the members to understand their progress, know about the hurdles, and provide solutions effectively. This will save a lot of time and effort since they won’t have to take individual calls throughout the day.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explained what the art of delegation means for a team manager and the ways in which it can benefit both the individual members and the entire team. With a proper strategy of effective delegation, managers can mitigate the risks and failures and ensure the work delivered meets all the standards and business requirements.