How to Delegate in the Workplace
By: Casey Harding-Brown
Luisa Smoot is a community manager for high-end apartment complexes in Denver, Colorado. She has over 5 years of experience in the luxury rental sector as well as new construction management. This just turned 30-year-old is a total boss babe. She takes care of the financials, building operations and also works hand-in-hand with development, asset management and marketing teams, as well as the general contractor and architects. As a lease-up manager, she works with her team to roll out innovative programming to make their buildings feel unique.
“I used to be terrible at delegating because I told myself the normal story that people who are terrible at delegating tell themselves which is, I will do this task the best and I will get it done in the most effective way.” What Luisa realized was that this was just a story in her head and she would never know if it was a true or false story until she delegated to her team and gave them the opportunity to prove themselves. Through delegating, she found that she could not only lighten her workload but also empower the people that were underneath her. By doing this, she can help her employees grow in the company which in turn makes her look good as a manager. It’s a win-win!
Now, here are a couple of tips on how to navigate delegating:
Delegate early
Don’t give them an unrealistic time frame just because you forgot to do a project and you’re leaving on a red-eye to hawaii.
Give it to the right person
If you have one person on your team whos very analytical versus someone who is more creative, play on those strengths.
Communicate the benefit.
Teach them why what they’re doing benefits the business. This will increase their commitment to the project.
Check-in with them
See how they’re doing and if they have questions or need help.
If you don’t like how they’re doing the delegated work, don’t take it back.
People are not always going to things right the first time so give them the chance to learn and succeed.
