The art of delegation

One individual cannot do everything – that’s just a simple fact. Trying to micromanage, or accomplish too much on your own, can result in missed deadlines, poor quality and burnout. It also, of course, creates problems with time management. Delegation is a sign of leadership rather than weakness. This is true of any profession and, for SBLs, the delegation of tasks is a vital skill as you move up the leadership ladder

Credit: edited version of piece first seen on the Brighton School of Business and Management site
How delegation can benefit you and your team:
It frees up your time for organising and planning
A majority of managers would love having more time for organising and planning. This is an important aspect of managing and it can be hard to find the time to work on this in between all of the other tasks that you are doing when your workload is too heavy.
It helps you improve your ability to develop and manage employees
Delegation is actually the best place to start if you aren’t sure of your own abilities to develop a team. If you already know what you want your team to achieve, then learning how to effectively delegate the overall process is a very important step towards improving your team and developing into a better manager.
It will help you from getting ‘spread too thin’
When you have too many things go on, it is not only hard on you, it can spell disaster for your team as well. If you are unable to manage your workload efficiently, how can you expect to be able to manage anything else effectively? Spread the load; work smarter instead of harder. 
It builds morale and motivates
When managers delegate to employees, they find it very satisfying. For most employees, this shows that they are trusted and valued workers, and that their manager thinks that they are capable of being even more successful. This can provide a lot more motivation than throwing a team pizza party! 
It stimulates and encourages initiative and creativity
Employees who feel empowered to complete delegated tasks the way they feel is best will be very motivated to succeed, and are often very creative as well. Their personal initiative, combined with their desire to accomplish the goal that you have given them, can help to produce results that are very impressive.
It helps them develop their skills
All of tomorrow’s leaders have to start somewhere. Helping your employees develop through teaching them new skills, and through delegation, in addition to benefiting them personally, also provides your organisation with better-trained and more-qualified personnel.
It gives them the opportunity to make significant contributions to the success of the team
Your employees will love all of the recognition and prestige that is associated with doing something that makes a significant difference. They will have a sense of accomplishment and pride from contributing in meaningful ways.
Remember what delegation is (and isn’t)!
Keep in mind that delegation isn’t merely a convenient way of passing off simple task that you don’t like to do. Delegation isn’t giving somebody a task to do and then completely micromanaging the process. Delegation is about giving employees a job to do that has some basic parameters to it and then providing them with the authority and ability to make decisions on their own in terms of what steps should be taken in order to accomplish the goal or objective.
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