How to Delegate Work (the Definitive Guide for Successful Leaders)

When you are willing to delegate, you are promoting an atmosphere of confidence and trust. Your actions send a clear signal: as a leader, you trust your subordinates to achieve desired outcomes. As a result, they will come to think of you as a likeable and efficient leader who respects their skills and needs.

Delegation isn’t about barking orders and hoping that your staff falls in line. A manager’s job is to get the very best from those under their supervision and in doing so, maximizing productivity and profit.^[2]

Here’s an example of bad delegation:

Careful delegation helps to identify and capitalize on the unique strengths and weaknesses of the team members. Delegation also boosts employees’ engagement as it proves that the managers are interested in drawing on their talents.^[3]

The fear to delegate

Delegation boosts productivity, but not all managers are willing or able to delegate.^[4] Why? Here’re some common reasons:^[5]

• They may resent the idea that someone else may get the credit for a project.
• They may be willing to delegate in principle but are afraid their team won’t be able to handle an increased degree of responsibility.
• They may suspect that their staff is already overworked, and feel reluctant to increase their burden.
• They may suspect that it’s simpler and quicker just to do a task themselves.
• They dislike the idea of letting go of tasks they enjoy doing.
• They fear that if they delegate responsibility, their own manager will conclude that they can’t handle their workload.

Delegation vs Allocation

Most people think that delegation and allocation are synonymous, but there is an important distinction to be made between the two.^[6]

When you allocate a task, you are merely instructing a subordinate to carry out a specific action. You tell them what to do, and they do it–it’s that simple. On the other hand, delegation involves transferring some of your own work to another person. They do not just receive a set of instructions. Rather, they are placed in a role that requires that they make decisions and are held accountable for outcomes.^[7]

So what’s the best way to delegate work so you can fight the fear of delegation, build an efficient team and work faster?

How to delegate work effectively (A step-by-step guide)

1. Know when to delegate

By understanding how much control you need to maintain over a situation, you can determine the best strategy for empowering workers. There are 7 levels of delegation that offer workers different degrees of responsibility.

This brief video explains these levels and offers examples of when it’s appropriate to use each one:

Delegation occurs along a spectrum. The lowest level of delegation happens when you tell other people what to do. It offers little opportunity for employees to try new approaches. The most empowering form of delegation occurs when you are able to give up most of your control over the project to the employee.

Knowing how to delegate work helps you understand how to connect people with tasks that make the best use of their talents. When done properly, it ensures that you will get the best end-result.^[8]

When you’re deciding how to delegate work, ask the following questions:

• Do you have to be in charge of this task, or can someone else pull it off?
• Does this require your attention to be successful?
• Will this work help an employee develop their skills?
• Do you have time to teach someone how to do this job?
• Do you expect tasks of this nature to recur in the future?

2. Identify the best person for the job

You have to pass the torch to the right team member for delegation to work. Your goal is to create a situation in which you, your company, and the employee have a positive experience.

Think about team members’ skills, willingness to learn, and their working styles and interests. They’ll be able to carry out the work more effectively if they’re capable, coachable, and interested. When possible, give an employee a chance to play to their strengths.

Inexperienced workers may need more guidance than seasoned veterans. If you don’t have the time to set the newer employee up for success, it’s not fair to delegate to them.

You also have to consider how busy your employees are. The last thing you want to do is overwhelm someone by giving them too many responsibilities.

3. Tell and sell to get the member buy-in

After you’ve found the perfect person for the job, you still have to get them to take on the new responsibility. Let them know why you chose them for the job. ^[9] When you show others that you support their growth, it builds a culture of trust. Employees who see delegated tasks as opportunities are more likely to be invested in the outcome.

When you’re working with newer employees, express your willingness to provide ongoing support and feedback. For seasoned employees, take their thoughts and experiences into account.

4. Be clear and specific about the work

It’s critical to explain to employees why the project is necessary, what you expect of them, and when it’s due.^[10] If they know what you expect, they’ll be more likely to deliver.

By setting clear expectations, you help them plan how to carry out the task. Set up project milestones so that you can check progress without micromanaging. If your employee has trouble meeting a milestone, they still have time to course correct before the final product is due.

This type of accountability is commonly used in universities. If students only know the due date and basic requirements for completing major research papers, they might put off the work until the eleventh hour. Many programs require students to meet with advisers weekly to get guidance, address structure, and work out kinks in their methods in advance of deadlines. These measures set students up to succeed while giving them the space to produce great work.

5. Support your employees

To see the best possible outcomes of delegating, your subordinates need resources and support from you. Connect them with training and materials to develop skillsets they don’t already have.^[11] It may take more time up front to make resources available, but you’ll save time by having the work done correctly. For recurring tasks, this training pays off repeatedly.

Sometimes employees need a help to see what they’re doing well and how they can improve. Giving and receiving feedback is an essential part of delegation. This is also a good way to monitor the delegated tasks as a leader. While you can keep track of the progress of the tasks, you are not micro-managing the employees.

Throughout the project, periodically ask your employees if they need support or clarification. Make it clear that you trust them to do the work, and you want to create a space for them to ask questions and offer feedback. This feedback will help you refine the way you delegate work.

6. Show your appreciation

During periodic check-ins, recognize any wins that you’ve seen on the project so far. Acknowledge that your employees are making progress toward the objective. The Progress Principle lays out how important it is to celebrate small wins to keep employees motivated.^[12] Workers will be more effective and dedicated if they know that you notice their efforts.

Recognizing employees when they do well helps them understand the quality of work you expect. It makes them more likely to want to work with you again on future projects.

Putting delegation into practice

Now that you know exactly what delegation means and the techniques to delegate work efficiently, you are in a great position to streamline your tasks and drive productivity in your team.

To delegate is to grant autonomy and authority to someone else, thus lightening your own workload and building a well-rounded, well-utilized team.

Delegation might seem complicated or scary, but it gets much easier with time. Start small by delegating a couple of decisions to members of your team over the next week or two.

Featured photo credit: Freepik via freepik.com

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