Essential Skills for New Leaders: Mastering the Art of Empowerment & Delegation
Introduction
What Do Empowerment & Delegation Really Mean for New Leaders?
A common understanding is that leaders delegate specific tasks to their team members with two main intentions:
1) To provide learning and development opportunities, empowering them to expand their knowledge and skills through practice.
2) To allow leaders to focus on prioritized tasks that are more critical, requiring senior-level expertise and decision-making.
In my experience, this is a leadership skill that is easy to understand but not as easy to carry out. The delay of mastering this skill can cause ineffective leadership, disengaged employees, lack of trust and collaboration in teams.
Empowerment is a crucial leadership skill offering three main benefits:
1) It motivates teams.
2) It foster trust.
3) I encourages innovation.
By observing and understanding their team’s strengths with empathy, new leaders can make more informed decisions about empowerment.
Delegation is not about offloading tasks; it is about entrusting responsibility and authority while maintaining accountability.
The key benefits of effective delegation include
1) Accelerating employees’ growth through practice
2) Making employees feel valued for their skills and strengths
3) Finding new improvements and ideas from fresh perspectives.
What are the challenges and how to overcome them?
1) Learning to “let go” of tasks they excel at. Understand that their new role requires focusing on different responsibilities.
2) Overcoming the “ego” that might prevent them from recognizing their employees’ capabilities, which can be as good as or even better than their own.
3) Overcoming the fear of losing control. Embracing a growth mindset, new leaders should view their role change as a shift in the type of control they exert, focusing more on strategic planning and leading the team to achieve goals through delegation and empowerment.
Steps to Empower and Delegate Effectively
1) Identify Opportunities: Use strengths assessments, observations, and discussion to understand each employees’ strengths, career aspirations, and interests. This helps in effectively delegating tasks for optimal results.
2) Maintain Open Communication: Be clear when delegating tasks and empower team members. Provide constructive feedback and encourage dialogues, fostering a two-way communication rather than a one-directional task assignment.
