• How to Successfully Use the Power of Delegation

    by Alexander Becker on August 23, 2006 | Link

    Find out which tasks you absolutely have to do yourself and delegate all the rest without thinking about the specifics anymore. Wait for the results and deal with the next steps up the ladder.

    The essence of delegating is not to unconditionally trust the one who is doing the assigned task, the main requirement is sufficient trust in yourself to designate someone else, anyone else. You cannot control everything and since you already noticed that and you now try to convince yourself that you at least oversee everything -- no, you do not oversee everything, no chance. Delegate.

    You will be amazed by the amount of stuff you still try to stay on top of. Stuff that you could easily have someone else take care of in order for you to pave the way for the fulfillment of your purpose. Are you the very best for the job? If yes, complete it. If no, find the best and delegate -- in fact, even if you do not find the best for the job right away, it is probably wise to delegate anyway. Think about it.

    Do not exploit people while following the path to your purpose. Find the ones who will be grateful for the tasks you hand over to them because they are compatible with their purpose. That's the secret of delegation: Assign tasks compatible to people's purpose.

    Intelligent delegation is not getting your job done by someone lower down in your corporate hierarchy. Instead, intelligent, smart delegation is finding the right person for the right task at the right time.

    There is always someone who truly enjoys a particular job. You have to find these people and build your dream on the foundations of their purposeful work. Make sure that every person involved is doing exactly what he or she is meant to be, make sure to work exclusively with people who know their true purpose and who see the connection between your vision and theirs.

    Delegation frees up your resources and enables you to expand the time for your core functions and responsibilities. Monitor and analyze carefully every regular activity and you will quickly find some actions that are subject to delegation.

    Try not only to transfer tangible, hard tasks but also delegate authority, the intangible, soft part of work. You are not losing power when you smartly share some authority over the right issues. Do you really have to be the direct contact for X?

    Delegating means assigning reponsibility, but ultimately you can only transfer the means to do the job to another person, the responsiblity itself always stays with you. There is a beautiful quote by Andrew Carnegie: No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit. Make sure to give credit where credit is due.

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