Delegation is a key skill that managers need but it is not always easy to apply in practice.

It is one that we are often asked to focus on in leadership training and in our experience, managers need clear guidance on how to delegate as well as the opportunity to think about what works and what does not work when they are delegating tasks.

In this article, we look at what you can do to help your managers delegate more effectively, starting with some of the initial challenges of delegating and then looking at how to delegate well.

Some of the Challenges of Delegating

Resisting Delegating 

Delegating is not as easy as it sounds.  It requires consideration and planning, and you need to have the right work to delegate and the right people to delegate to.

Some of the things that we hear from the managers that we train, is that they do not delegate because:

• They are nervous that the task that they delegate will not be done well
• They do not have the time to work out what to delegate or have the time to explain what needs to be done
• They do not really know how to delegate, and they feel it is easier and faster to do it themselves
• They do not want to lose control of the task

Over Delegating

Some managers find delegating helpful but can have a tendency to over delegate.  This means that they can handover too much, perhaps risking overloading people or not being realistic about what is within someone’s skills, knowledge or abilities.

Not Retaining Responsibility

One of the important points of delegating is to remember that the person delegating still has responsibility for the overall task.  Sometimes when the task is delegated, it can be tempting to also handover responsibility but that is not the reality of how delegation should work.  Responsibility still remains with the person delegating the task.

Providing No Feedback or Being Over-Critical

There are two areas for managers to be aware of:

• Not giving any feedback on the task that has been delegated
• Or being over-critical

We need to give feedback on what has gone well and also feedback on what needs to be improved or done differently.  Often people stay away from giving feedback, especially if it means communicating that something needs further work or re-work.

Equally, being over-critical of what has been done can also be a problem. This can create a negative attitude, and a reluctance to continue with the task.

How to Delegate Well

When thinking about how to delegate, it can be easiest to break this down into: what, who and how.  We can best work this out by asking ourselves some questions:

What can I Delegate?

• Is it a task someone else can do (do they have potential with training)?
• Does it give opportunity for growth to a team member?
• Is it likely to come up again in the future?
• Do you have time to delegate effectively?
• Is it critical to the success of the task that I am involved?

When thinking about these questions, the manager also has to consider some other factors.  For example, if you are working to project deadlines and these deadlines are very tight, is it feasible to delegate some or any of the tasks this time?  Or perhaps anything that is delegated will have to be closely monitored.

Equally, the manager may need to allow time for anything that does not go according to plan to be re-done without the overall project or task deadlines being missed.  Unless, of course, it is feasible for the deadlines to move.

Occasionally lower quality work, changed deadlines or failure may be acceptable but in many instances, this will not be the case.

Some work is easier to delegate than other types of work.  The more complicated the type of work to be delegated, the more it will need to be planned but it can still be done.

Who Can/Should I Delegate this to?

• What is the experience, knowledge and skill of the person?
• What is the individual’s preferred work style?
• What is the current workload of the individual?

The manager can start by thinking about who in the team has the knowledge, skills and attitude closest to what is needed to take on the task or who in the team is wanting to take on new responsibilities and is willing to learn.

Then we can think if we have the time and resources to provide any training that is needed, and if so, can that training and support be provided in-house and in what timescales.  We may need to allow time for training to happen and also for the person to reach a point of being competent to work independently so coaching may be needed for a while.

Importantly, the manager needs to consider if the person has time to take on more workload, if anything needs to be re-organised and what the impact would be on the rest of the team.

How Can I/Should I Delegate this?

• What is your desired outcome?
• What are the lines of authority and responsibility?
• How can you include the person in the process of planning the delegation?
• How can you involve the people closest to doing the work?
• How can you provide adequate support, and establish and maintain control?
• How will you recognise achievements and not worry about the process that they follow?

It is really important to be clear on what you want as the outcome.  What will good look like?  When do you need it done by?  You need to also clearly communicate what updates you require so a very precise brief is important.  Depending on the level of experience of the person that you are delegating to and the size of the task, it may be necessary to work together to agree timescales and milestones, to provide sources of help and to agree meeting dates to review progress.

Monitor the Task and Provide Feedback

Once the task has been handed-over, it is important to still monitor progress and to equally provide feedback.

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH

If you would like to discuss any of the points covered, please let us know.  We are always happy to catch-up and brainstorm ideas.