The Art of Delegation: A Soft Skill for Everyone, Not Just Managers

The workplace in 2016 is a different world from 2006. It can be claimed that some workplaces had too many employees. Yet today, we function with far fewer people. Soft skills, therefore, are much more important than ever as we require a diverse range of skills and flexibility. The delegation was once the exclusive preserve of the supervisor or manager. Today though, we all need to identify when we have too much work and encouraging others to help. Previously, and perhaps out of politeness, employees fear to ask for help. Bookboon has an effective solution to encouraging delegation…

It used to be that employees knew only their own job roles. They could not see outside their bubble, as they had not been encouraged or expected to do so. This led to a problem of over-staffing.

When cutbacks began in 2008, existing employees realised a need to learn much more than they had before, and to do so quickly. This meant a greater focus on teamwork over the individual and increasing resilience in the face of pressure. Employees without authority needed to learn to delegate, too.

Why everyone needs to delegate

Work tasks can often be a natural series of waves. Call it “feast or famine”, essentially it is the understanding that workload is not constant. Each of us will have quiet periods and busy periods.

It is no longer acceptable for employees to tell each other “that’s not my job”. Yet this is what has been happening for many years. With fewer employees expected to do just as much work as ten years ago, our work attitude must change. It is not just necessary for good, effective teamwork. It helps a business streamline its operations and move forward as a whole.

It could be that some employees simply lack the confidence to delegate. It could be that others would be happy to assist if only shown how to do a particular task. Others may refuse out of fear of getting it wrong. Whatever the reason, we all need the confidence and assertiveness to delegate and not do everything ourselves.

What effective delegation means

When employees at all levels have the confidence, authority and openness of teamwork to delegate, your business can only succeed. Delegation between peers promotes a number of good working practices, including:

• Time management in the team and as individuals. When employees understand each other’s needs, and the context of each other’s work, tasks move forward more effectively.
• It promotes the growth mind-set by instilling the importance of their own actions towards success of the team and the organisation
• It fosters team cohesion in an environment where employees support each other rather than claiming it is not their problem
• It fosters personal decision-making. Employees can identify when they have too much work
• Similarly, it develops confidence in employees. When they no longer see asking for help as a weakness, they are less anxious about seeking help

It may be the case individualism is deeply entrenched in your workplace. If this is true, then Bookboon can help employees of all levels and abilities master the delegation soft skill.

Employees are assets, and so are their skills

Every employee brings something unique to your organisation. Yet not every employee has all the required skills to carry out their task. That is why business training for your employees is such an important investment. For many years, Bookboon has offered up to date training for businesses just like yours. How are we different? Instead of focusing on classroom learning, we utilise a wide range of eBooks all in one eLibrary. Whether you are looking for soft skills or technical skills, we can help your employees and your businesses develop with easy to use eLearning methods.

Test Bookboon’s eLibrary with this free demo now!