Delegation Skills
Do you require delegation skills to function well in your job role? This article provides a guide on how you can develop the skills and include them on your resume.
What is Delegation?
Delegation is a fundamental management skill that involves assigning tasks, authority, and responsibility to a subordinate or group of subordinates. It is a way for managers to distribute work, encourage efficiency, and develop the skills of their team members. Delegation enables a manager to focus on more important tasks while trusting that the delegated tasks will be completed effectively and efficiently.
Delegation should be done thoughtfully and carefully. A manager should select the right person for the task and provide clear instructions and objectives. The manager should ensure that the delegate has the authority and resources needed to complete the task. They should also provide support and guidance to ensure the task is completed with the desired quality and within the given timeframe.
Delegation is also essential for developing the skills of team members. It allows them to learn new skills and take on more responsibility. This helps them to grow and gain more experience, which can be beneficial for the team and the organization as a whole.
Importance of Delegation Skills
- Delegation saves time
You have more time and can focus on the most important issues. With delegation, a manager can divide the work and distribute it among his employees. This helps reduce his workload so that he can focus on the most important areas such as planning, business analysis, business strategy, etc. By delegating authority, the manager can achieve efficiency in his work. This efficiency allows the manager to demonstrate his or her abilities and expertise in the best possible way. This is crucial, not only because it relieves the manager of an overload of work, but also because each individual has a unique set of abilities, knowledge, and skills. Delegating the right task to the right person can greatly accelerate progress, as well as greatly reduce the risk of failure.
- It builds morale, trust, and productivity
In an organization, delegation is the foundation of the relationship between supervisor and subordinate. Subordinates are motivated to do their best work when they have authority and responsibility. They put much more effort into their work and are generally careful and attentive in their work. This motivates subordinates. Employees’ thoughts and attitudes about the work they do become more positive.
- Delegation creates a hierarchy
It creates a structure within the company, which is necessary to create authority and accountability. If employees know they can answer to someone other than an overworked owner or manager, they are more likely to do their job to the best of their ability. Authority flows from the top down, creating a relationship based on results, and this leads to an extremely efficient business.
- It helps both the boss and the subordinates
It provides stability to the organization. Once the company has achieved effective results, it may consider creating additional units. This will likely require the creation of more supervisors, which can be accomplished by placing skilled and experienced managers in these positions. This promotes the virtual and horizontal growth of the organization, which is essential for stability.
- It helps develop team spirit
Effective communication between supervisors and subordinates requires delegation of authority. Subordinates are accountable to superiors and superiors are responsible for employee performance. This improves relationships and builds team spirit between supervisors and subordinates.
- Enables management development
It is a training ground for management development. It allows subordinates to learn, grow and develop new skills and expertise. It creates a pool of professionals who can be used when needed. It creates managers, not messengers.
- Delegation ensures efficiency and speed of action
Delegation saves time by allowing employees to process tasks quickly. They can make decisions quickly within their authority. They don’t need to go to their superiors to deal with day-to-day issues. This increases the efficiency of the company as a whole and ensures much better results in terms of production, revenues and profits.
- It maintains harmony
Superiors trust their subordinates and give them the necessary authority. Subordinates accept responsibility, which promotes a warm relationship between superiors and subordinates.
How to Improve your Delegation Skills
- Get used to the idea of delegating tasks.
One of the biggest challenges for managers and team leaders is developing the habit of delegating tasks. Concern for your work and not believing that your team members can do it with the same abilities as you are two of the most common reasons why you are reluctant to delegate work.
The first step to improving your delegation skills is to learn to trust others with your work. You can start by delegating small tasks and gradually delegate more complex tasks as you gain the trust of your team.
- Establish a task hierarchy system.
Knowing which tasks to delegate and to whom to delegate them involves assessing the importance and complexity of each task. You can improve your delegation strategy by creating a task prioritization system with criteria specific to your department. You can then perform the most complex and important tasks yourself, and delegate the rest based on the complexity of each task and the experience, specialization, and skills of your employees.
- Delegate based on the strengths of your team members.
When selecting criteria for delegating tasks, the strengths and weaknesses of your team members can be an important factor in the decision. By assessing their best qualities and delegating tasks in a way that allows them to use those qualities, you can help your team meet project deadlines more consistently. In addition, delegating a task based on an employee’s strengths is likely to help them improve over time.
- Give instructions to your team members on how to accomplish the task.
Successful delegation often depends on providing clear instructions to team members. This may include any specific information needed to complete the task, steps the employee must take, and a deadline for completing the task. In addition to helping the employee understand exactly what you expect of them, providing detailed instructions before the job begins can save both of you time, as there are fewer chances for communication gaps to occur during the process.
- Train your team members in new skills.
If no one on your team has the skills to perform a particular task, you can save time in the long run by training them in new skills rather than performing the task yourself. This will allow the team to perform similar tasks in the future. Depending on your team’s preferences, you can deliver training through written materials, demonstrations, lectures, or a combination of these three methods.
- Establish the balance between trusting employees and validating their work.
One of the most important aspects of delegation is learning to trust your employees and knowing when it is appropriate to check their work. Finding the balance between these two concepts usually depends on the characteristics of each team member, as some tend to perform better when left alone, while others prefer to be supervised to stay motivated. By taking the time to understand how each member of your team likes to work, you can improve your overall performance.
- Learn to give effective feedback.
Giving feedback is also an important aspect of improving delegation skills, as it lets your employees know how they are doing and how they can improve. In addition to praise and constructive criticism, it’s also important to encourage team members to give their feedback on how you delegate tasks, give instructions and follow up on projects. By learning to give feedback and encouraging your staff to do the same, you can improve communication within the team and increase trust among team members.
Jobs that require Delegation Skills
- Project Manager
Project managers are responsible for delegating tasks and resources to team members to ensure the successful completion of projects.
- Human Resources Manager
Human resources managers must delegate tasks related to hiring, training, and development of employees to maintain a functional workforce.
- Business Owner
Business owners must delegate tasks to employees and contractors to manage their day-to-day operations.
- Executive
Executives must delegate tasks to subordinates to ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget.
- Clinical Nurse Manager
Clinical nurse managers must delegate tasks to nurses and other healthcare staff to provide quality patient care.
- Financial Manager
Financial managers must delegate tasks related to budgeting and financial planning to maintain financial stability.
- Operations Manager
Operations managers must delegate tasks related to production, logistics, and customer service to ensure efficient operations.
- Marketing Manager
Marketing managers must delegate tasks related to advertising, public relations, and market research to promote the company’s products and services.
- IT Manager
IT managers must delegate tasks related to hardware and software installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting to ensure a functional IT system.
- Sales Manager
Sales managers must delegate tasks related to sales, customer service, and lead generation to increase revenue and maintain customer satisfaction.
How to Include Delegation Skills in your Resume
- Under your work experience section, include a brief description of your delegating duties. Make sure to include key highlights such as the scope of the people you managed, the number of people you supervised, and the successes you achieved through delegating.
- If you have any prior experience leading or managing a team or project, include a detailed description of the project and the delegation tasks you performed.
- Highlight any successes you achieved through delegation, such as increased efficiency or productivity, cost savings, or improved customer satisfaction.
- Mention any awards or recognition you achieved for your delegation skills.
- If you have any certifications or training related to delegation, include them on your resume.
- Demonstrate your ability to learn and adapt quickly to new situations with examples of how you’ve delegated tasks in the past.
- Provide any examples of delegating tasks to other team members, such as assigning tasks to team members and providing them with the necessary resources and support.
- Demonstrate your ability to delegate effectively and efficiently by mentioning any initiatives or projects you’ve completed while delegating.
Examples of how to Include Delegation Skills in Your Resume
The examples below illustrate how to include delegation in your resume as a project manager:
- Successfully planned, coordinated, and delegated tasks to a team of 10+ junior project managers while overseeing a complex software development project.
- Developed and implemented delegation strategies to ensure the efficient completion of project tasks and milestones.
- Utilized delegation to ensure team members were working on the most important tasks, enabling the project to be completed promptly.
- Effectively assigned tasks to team members according to their strengths and abilities, resulting in improved productivity and morale.
- Collaborated with senior management to create a delegation plan that enabled the successful completion of projects.
How to Demonstrate Delegation Skills in an Interview
- Describe a time when you delegated a complex project or task and the successful outcome
Explain the steps you took to delegate the project or task, how you communicated the goals to your team, and how you monitored progress.
- Discuss how you empower team members to take ownership
Explain how you create an environment that encourages individual responsibility and autonomy.
- Describe how you delegate responsibility based on individual strengths
Explain how you assess the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and how you assign tasks accordingly.
- Share how you manage conflicting priorities
Explain how you prioritize tasks and delegate them accordingly.
- Describe how you motivate team members
Explain how you provide support and encouragement to team members to help them reach their goals.
- Explain how you monitor progress
Explain how you use feedback and progress reports to ensure that tasks are completed on time and within budget.
Examples of Interview Questions to test Delegation Skills
- Describe a project where you delegated tasks to others. What was the outcome?
This question allows the interviewer to assess the candidate’s ability to delegate tasks, measure the success of the project and evaluate their ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of team members.
- How do you ensure that delegated tasks are completed on time?
This question allows the interviewer to gauge the candidate’s ability to monitor the progress of delegated tasks and hold people accountable for their work.
- How do you provide feedback to those you delegate tasks to?
This question gives the interviewer insight into the candidate’s communication skills and how they provide constructive feedback to team members.
- What methods do you use to delegate tasks?
This question gives the interviewer an idea of the candidate’s ability to prioritize tasks and create a plan of action.
- How do you motivate team members while delegating tasks?
This question allows the interviewer to assess the candidate’s ability to motivate team members and foster team collaboration.
