Getting people to agree to do tasks for you is relatively easier than getting them to deliver that task just when you would be needing it. That's because there are two things involved. They not only have to work to beat the deadline, but must especially do it the right way.
As a leader, your reputation will grow or fall based on your team's productivity. There's no other way to it. take all the time you need, but if you aren't producing or making things work, people are gonna lose their patience and get tired of you. That wouldn't have a good effect on you. I can tell.
So, what can you do to make your team efficient and complete tasks on time competently?
1. Recruit people with a record of achievement.
This is a no-brainer. if they're gonna work for you, then you have to be sure you're having the right guy come over. Hence, it's just a waste of your time and resources. When interviewing, make sure to press for examples of real achievements in their previous tasks. You could even reach out to those people to confirm if this is true.
2. Ask task owners to share their plans with you.
When tasks are assigned, agree on an outcome with each team member and leave the path to be taken to be decided by the task owner. But to be in the know, and to see things from a wider perspective (Since panners are the most optimistic) in case there's a better alternative you might want to suggest or an oversight on his/her part, ask them about their plans beforehand.
3. Checkmate commitment.
Be sure your team is sleeping on it when they say they are, and make sure they stick to their commitment and deliver what they say they would, exactly when they promised to. It shows competent on the team and builds trust with everyone out there.
4. Ethics, ethics and more ethics!
Set a rule of ethics for your team, and be sure that each commitment is carried out according to the ethics of the company. Make sure that your team doesn't leave a trail of unhappy people while they do their jobs.
5. Encourage people to be decisive.
Decisiveness is important, especially since you cannot always be around. You need to train people to make decisions to keep things rolling rather than wait. This skill deepens with time and practice.
6. Time management is key!
Sometimes, the same amount of workload can be overwhelming for some people while others are quite comfortable with it. This is probably due to stress or a lot of other factors. It could also be because the individuals struggle with time management. Coach your people with workload management problems.
7. Finally, treat people as individuals.
People are individuals. That means they also need the time to do life and be themselves. Don't come off too strong on them. Allow that fluidity and will. Also, treating people as individuals means taking them individually. Generalization might not be the best thing to do.
Think about the people who delivers best in your team. Ask them how they do it and see if they could share some of those skills with the rest of the team, or act as mentors to the ones who struggle.
Make sure your team delivers.