How to be good at Delegation? 

 Most important thing in delegation is deciding what to delegate. Identify the work that you need to keep and what needs to be done by your team member. First ask yourself “Is this something that needs more strategy and towards a long-term goal?” If the answer is yes, then keep that work with you!! There is lots of activity-based work that can be delegated to your team with some context setting done. 

Now let’s understand what context-setting is? Ensure that the following things are ticked off to ensure context setting is done

 (1) Explain to the team why they need to perform a particular task

 (2) Outline clearly the expectations from each team member

 (3) Describe the key inputs expected that will help you meet that collective goal

Also, delegation with context setting helps spin off the team in the right direction and ensures that the team members feel empowered and gives them a sense of fulfillment when they go above and beyond the brief given. It is always good that you provide the context but allow for team members to bring in value addition by being creative and Out of the box in bringing in new ideas. This provides dopamine hit to their brains that can help bring in sense of belonging and make them feel empowered in a team setting. Refrain from giving explicit advice: “So given that context, what do you think the best way forward is?” Teach with examples, not answers. If your team member lacks the knowledge or experience to make a good decision, explain how you made similar decisions in the past solving a particular problem statement. Then prompt your team member to think about how those lessons might apply in this situation. Establish accountability and support. End the conversation with, “Let me know what you need and what you discover” 

Ensure that you bring your direct reports into as many senior-level conversations as possible so that your boss or client sees that they have a strong understanding of the details and in sync with your leadership direction. Corporate culture glorifies leadership, but if you love doing, delegation might not be right for you. Coming to terms with this can be difficult but rewarding in the long term.  If you’re a senior leader, doing less activity work and more context-setting is the best way for all of you to deliver at scale.

Finally, don’t Delegate the Delegation 😊