In an earlier post (DELEGATION 101) and (READY, SET, DELEGATE!) we covered some delegation basics, including how and why to assign tasks to others in your group and what to keep for yourself. Now let’s look at five common signs that you still aren’t delegating enough.
1 – You’re busy but your team isn’t. When you’re swamped it can be easy to overlook the fact that everyone else seems to have plenty of spare time. Constant chatting in the hallways isn’t always a performance issue—it could signal that you’re hoarding work while your team’s collective talents are going to waste.
2 – You can’t identify the strong performers on your team. Every Project Team has high achievers, but it’s hard to spot them when they aren’t being challenged. Maybe you’re not delegating enough work to keep good performers focused, or perhaps you aren’t giving them the tasks and responsibilities that will force them to really apply their skills and wow you.
3 – Your employees never need direction. It sounds like a dream, but in reality this is a classic sign that your team members don’t have enough stimulation in their workload. It’s likely that you aren’t handing off tasks that require them to stretch their knowledge and gain new expertise.
4 – You never get pushback on deadlines, workload, or expectations. Project management professionals usually have enough going on that they need to negotiate within the team on occasion—asking for extra time to finish a presentation, requesting administrative help during busy times, or clarifying what you expect from them. Never being asked to prioritize or examine your team’s operations is a sure sign they don’t have enough to do.
5 – Your Project Team is a revolving door. Most strong performers enjoy being challenged, and if you aren’t pushing them to succeed they’re likely to find someone else who will.
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