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Learn to Delegate

By thoughtfully delegating tasks instead of attempting to do everything yourself, you can stay organized and keep your workflow moving. Delegating also adds new perspectives and the expertise of others.

Most people who are in a position to delegate welcome the opportunity to do so. But others resist it. Why? Some avoid delegating because they don’t want to burden other people with their work. Others are afraid that if someone else does the work, it won’t be done correctly. You may be unaccustomed to delegating and reluctant to assert your authority, or you may feel too disorganized to delegate. Here are some ideas to help:

When Should I Delegate?

• When someone else is available to handle routine tasks
• When you’re extremely busy and someone else has extra time
• When someone else has greater expertise to handle the project

To Whom Should I Delegate?

• Someone with the knowledge and expertise to do the job
• Someone who can be trained or can get help from a more experienced team member
• Someone who has the time to do the job
• Someone who will find the task interesting and rewarding
• A consultant or outside agency when everyone on staff is too busy

What Can I Delegate?

• Specific tasks
• Projects that need completion

Ongoing Responsibility

• Ask employees to handle recurring tasks or projects
• Make sure the person has received adequate instruction, guidance, or training to perform the task
• Be available to give feedback until the employee has mastered the task
• Be clear about your expectations
• Provide useful information to help the person tackle the project, but avoid too much detail
• After they’ve received adequate training, make sure you give the employees the authority to complete job on their own

Long-Range Objectives

You can challenge self-motivated employees to help reach an objective. For example, you might ask members of your technical support staff to work toward decreasing the number of customer complaints over the next three months.

What Kind of Feedback Is Important?

• Praise and give rewards after you’ve delegated
• Give specific feedback about the results
• Point out the good qualities of the employee’s performance
• Thank the employee for a job well done

 

Download and try our Delegation Worksheet (PDF - 36 K). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view or print this file.