How To Delegate Effectively [In < 2 Minutes!]

Trust and confidence are the cornerstones of delegation.

A leader needs to be confident in themselves, and the people they delegate to.

Effective delegation will lead to less stress, better employee integration and:

Develop leadership skills and create future leaders.

When Should You Delegate?

Fitting everything into an average workday means prioritising tasks.

It is about finding the balance in what you can do, and what you have time to do. Even with timeboxing, a great time management method, you can’t do everything!

When you have a big project and so many tasks to handle, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you have time to complete everything?

No! As a manager, you will always have more things to do than you have time to complete.

It is important that you understand this and get on top of your time management.

2. Is the quality going to be of a high standard if you do?

If you are short on time and rushed, the quality of the work you do is never going to be that high.

3. Is it necessary that you personally complete the tasks?

No! Your job as a manager is to maximise the output of your team, not your personal output.

Answering these three questions honestly to yourself is key to understanding when to delegate.

How To Delegate

Start by letting go when a task doesn’t require your personal attention.

1. Find a good candidate for your task, and communicate the objectives clearly:

What is the task? What are the deadlines? What are the expected results?

Take your time and be clear with your expectations.

2. Explain your decision-making process.

Why have you chosen them? Why does the task need to be completed?

Let them know this is a training opportunity to ensure they give it their all

3. Find out what support they might need or find helpful.

What questions do they have? Are there any resources they would like access to?

Make sure there is open communication and mutual feedback, this will make delegating to the person easier each successive time.

Keep in mind, over-communication is better than under when outlining the task!

How Delegation Helps Everyone

Not even the best managers on earth can do everything alone.

Putting everything on yourself will lead to you burning out and performing worse.

Studies even suggest that stress levels in the workplace have risen by 20% in the last 3 decades.

This will rub off on employees and will negatively affect your work relationships.

The best managers recognise they need to delegate for their own wellbeing but also:

To build strong employee/manager relationships and develop their team.

Delegation is incredibly important for time management at work.

Delegation For Leadership Development

Is there someone with clear potential at your work?

Someone who you think may eventually make a great manager?

Give them a challenge, and use delegation to create future leaders.

This gives them the chance to show their potential, while you get the opportunity to see how they will tackle the problem.

Using delegation like this takes work off your hands, and empowers your employees to over achieve.

When the time comes to promote someone to a management position, you now have an employee you know can handle it.

Need more time management tips? Read our guide on Time Management for Projects here!