How Emotional Intelligence Ensures Successful Delegation
Kai Communications
How Emotional Intelligence Ensures Successful Delegation
By Lucy Harris, Intern at Kai Communications
Having emotional intelligence is an important skill in marketing. It allows us to understand how other people’s behaviours are influenced, the client’s audience, issues, goals and experiences, and what journalists require. It helps us build relationships with clients, media, and stakeholders and overcome challenges. We use emotional intelligence to spot opportunities to build morale, relieve stress, and mentor. We also use it to delegate well.
Being able to combine practical delegation strategies with an emotional intelligence lens allows leaders to value a people-first approach in the workplace. Building trust by providing opportunities leaves team members feeling empowered, confident, and competent in their work, which makes for a more cohesive team.
CEOs who delegate well have been found to generate 33% higher revenue in 2013 than those who weren’t as good at delegating. A positive workplace culture can translate into a strong employer brand, a more effective workforce, and a good public image.
Here are seven strategies to help you use emotional intelligence to become a better delegator, particularly in the marketing industry:
1. Foundation of Trust – Knowing which tasks to delegate is the starting point. Focus on tasks that do not require your unique expertise or authority, tasks that are not confidential, or a high priority can be useful to test the waters and show confidence in your team without any mistakes being detrimental to the organisation. No matter how small a task delegation demonstrates trust in your team members’ abilities and empowers employees to take ownership of their roles.
2. The Perfect Match - Choosing the right people for each task is an important skill. It shows how well you know your team and can balance initiative responsibilities being fully handed over or being broken down into smaller blocks. Remember to adapt your delegation approach based on the individual’s experience and confidence levels too. For newer team members provide more structured guidance. Show empathy by understanding employees’ strengths, aspirations, workloads, and working styles to create a more meaningful delegation experience and provide more tailored opportunities for growth.
3. Passing the Baton – Delegation can develop leadership skills in employees through increased responsibility and autonomy providing them with opportunities for upward mobility. Mentoring individuals helps them to get on the leadership track. Sharing high visibility or rewarding projects with team members can help employees grow confidence, skillset and ability. Sacrificing tasks you like to do for the future benefit of a team member demonstrates your emotional intelligence and leadership skills.
4. Provide Training – Ensure team members have access to the tools, knowledge, and support they need to succeed. Have confidence in them but don’t throw them in the deep end, make it clear you can be there to answer any questions or give support but avoid micromanaging. Wait for them to come to you, and balance being approachable with encouraging independence. Encourage creative problem-solving by letting employees decide how to complete tasks within set boundaries, this can build their confidence up gradually while still giving them autonomy.
5. Delegate, Don’t Abdicate – Make it clear the level of decision-making each task has and if the individuals do need to consult with you or others, or if the task is independent. Either of these options shows trust in your team as you are showing you value their opinions and methods. If you aren’t sure someone is up to a task communicate that, and work with an individual’s preferred work or management style to help build up their confidence while balancing your level of involvement. This clarifies how they work best whilst giving them autonomy in the process.
6. Rely on Recognition – After a task is completed offer constructive feedback to those involved. Show recognition to those involved by highlighting their successes and acknowledging their effort to build their confidence and develop their skills. Phrase any negative comments constructively with ideas on how to improve next time or different approaches to continue to support and mentor them. Feedback post-delegation can deepen learning and create a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement to ensure long-term success. Always acknowledge and celebrate accomplishments, no matter how small as recognition boosts morale and reinforces trust within the team.
7. Future Forward – Use the feedback you have gathered and any insights you observed to improve future delegation. Create a safe environment for your team to learn from any mistakes and celebrate success to allow individuals to feel more confident taking risks and becoming more independent. This can foster professional growth for yourself and your team enabling delegation to become a tool utilised to spread the workload and allow individuals to thrive.
