How to Delegate Tasks

Do you constantly work overtime?

Are you working hard but still missing deadlines?

Are people around you wanting training opportunities to improve their skills?

Learning how to delegate increases your time on your important tasks and trains people around you.

But if your delegation skills are not great, then poor delegation increases the chances of job burnout, fatigue, and reduced employee morale.

So delegation skills are important!

Here we provide you with the essential steps of delegation. You learn how to delegate tasks and delegate work.

This improves your personal time management by freeing up your time to concentrate on more important tasks.

Delegate tasks, delegate work...but what?

Delegation is one of the most talked about but under utilized time management tools.

When I ask people about the importance of delegation they usually respond "Yes delegation is important but I don't because my experience is different."

There are a number of reasons why people avoid effective delegation.

Some common reasons for avoiding effective delegation are:

• "I don't want to give up control" or
• "I don't have the confidence that others can do it".

Learning how to delegate has the potential to free up your time for more important tasks and develop the skills and potential of the people around you.

If your workload is overwhelming, then delegation is one of those time management skills that reduces stress and gives you back your work life balance.

When deciding to how to delegate work or delegate tasks, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are there tasks that others can learn from and perhaps do more efficiently/cost effectively?
2. Do you dislike the work or task that you are considering to delegate?
3. Is the potential delegated task important to you and your goals.? I write more about how to set goals for concrete objectives that get things done.

If you answered an overwhelming "Yes" to the first two questions and "No" to the last question, then this task could be a likely candidate for successful delegation.

Delegate tasks, delegate work...but what skills are needed?

When deciding to delegate work it is important to develop clarity about the tasks you want to delegate.

The steps of delegation not only need you to identify the tasks, but the skills set and potential skills gaps.

In this task analysis, ask yourself the following questions when deciding to delegate work:

1. What resources/equipment are required for the task?

   Is it necessary to provide training for your colleagues before you delegate the task?

2. What skills are required for the delegated task?

   For example, does the task involve writing or decision-making abilities? Perhaps the delegated task may involve communication skills with suppliers, clients and/or consultants.

Knowing the skills and resources that are required for the task is an important step of delegation.

How to delegate to the right person

How do you select the person that you want to delegate to?

If you are pushed for time, then it is likely that you want to delegate work to the most experienced person who requires the least training.

BUT this may not be a good long-term strategy.

The person who has the ability to do the task may need training or mentoring which in turn increases the depth of skills you can draw upon.

Other important questions to ask for successful delegation are:

• Which employees have expressed a desire to learn?
• Which people have an interest in the skill sets that you are looking for?

Asking these types of questions allows you to more easily match the person with the delegated work, and make the transition easier.

Before you delegate work, an important consideration is: What is the person’s workload?

It is no good giving a task to an already overworked subordinate. This only results in stress, frustration, and eventual burnout!

Effective delegation may involve delegating to two people with different skills to get the task done.

For example, if you need a brochure or catalog to be written up and one person has great writing ability and another person has great graphics skills, then consider the possibility of delegating this job to both people.

How to delegate: Communicate your task/objectives clearly

One of the essential steps of delegation is to communicate the delegated work clearly to the person you are delegating to.

If possible, this should be done in a face-to-face meeting.

When communicating, people often ask themselves "What’s in it for me?" (WIFM)!

Use positive and beneficial language. When you delegate work, try to use positive language that highlights the benefits to the individual while remaining realistic.

Throughout, ask the other person for their input into the delegated task and objectives. The sooner that you empower the person in the shared responsibility of the task the more likely their motivation will increase.

Discuss the task in detail. If you do not understand the task that needs to be done, then it is unlikely the person you are delegating it to will understand.

Clearly and succinctly state what your expectations are for the task and how the performance of the task is to be measured.

What are the levels of accountability? Are there measures of success? What resources are available?

What are the deadlines? A deadline creates a priority. Without a deadline the task fills the time.

Try to create status review deadlines in addition to final deadlines.

Make sure these deadlines are written down in a time management planner.

Finally, make yourself available for further questions.

How to delegate: Monitor and provide feedback

When you delegate tasks, clearly identify the status review dates and the reporting method required.

Give feedback. Your delegation skills are enhanced by giving clear feedback on the delegated work.

Provide positive feedback and constructive criticism with ways that things can be improved.

I recommend the "sandwich technique" - put a constructive criticism between two positive feedbacks.

Give credit where credit is due. If the task is not done satisfactorily, or you think that you could have delegated more effectively, question whether your requests were unreasonable?

Did I delegate work to the right person?

When I delegate tasks could my communication be better?

Did the person benefit from being delegated to?

Final step of delegation: Review the delegated work

Set up a meeting so that both of you can review the completed task. What went right and could things have been improved?

Communicate in a positive way the achievements of the employee, and make sure that the employee is recognized by the other staff/clients for their work.

Ask the employee what they got out of the task.

Does the experience highlight any skill gaps that could be corrected though ongoing training? Provide any criticism in a constructive and sensitive manner.

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