Why Delegation is the Most Underrated Skill Set

Sit down and make a list of everything that is a priority today. I bet your list is a lot longer than what you can realistically accomplish in the way that you want. And this isn’t just you, this is also true for everyone that you work with. No matter how good you are at your job, you will always have more work to do than you can handle alone.

Use your skills to your advantage

When a job has to get done right now, all other priorities get pushed to your “do-it-later” list. Unfortunately, there is always another fire to fight, and your “do-it-later” list becomes your “never-gets-done” list.

The most effective leaders today focus on what they do best, and “outsource” the rest.

Delegation is a very underrated skill that’s often frowned upon - people are fearful that if they do not do the job themselves, then it won’t be done correctly. Delegation is also seen as a sign of weakness; and there is a weakness here for sure, but it’s on the part of the manager, for not trusting the employee. As a manager, you need to make sure that you are empowering your employees and your team.

If you’re not hiring people, you’re losing people

It’s the manager’s responsibility to coach, mentor and lead the right people to do the right activities. When an employee is working on things that they are not qualified to do, that they don’t like to do, or that they just shouldn’t be doing, it can lead to the employee’s dissatisfaction with their abilities and with their job. Ultimately, they may look to find a new opportunity that is a better fit for their skill sets and interests.

Make sure that you delegate the right things to the right people, and that you don’t overwork your team.

If you want to protect your team from losing valuable people, you need to start hiring valuable people

Don’t wait until your team is unhappy and burned out before you start looking to hire someone. Today’s market is highly competitive, and the majority of talent is employed. It is a manager’s job to ensure the timely execution of every task and project, and this can mean finding talented people to join your team to bring the project to completion. Ensuring high-quality work will promote job satisfaction from every employee.

Create a hiring strategy from the start and make sure you have everyone that you need to get the job done, this is the only way to ensure long term success. Delegate what you can, and hire to fill in the gaps.