- Step One: Assess the task
- Step Two: Find the right candidate
- Step Three: Assign the task
- Step Four: Monitor and support
- Delegation Trap 1: You think you should have the busiest schedule
- Delegation Trap 2: You don’t have time to delegate so you don't do it
- Delegation Trap 3: You expect others to do things your way
- Delegation Trap 4:Â You give tasks to the people who already have the skills
- Delegation Trap 5: You only delegate the “boring tasks”
- âž Related Notion templates
- âž Related Management Frameworks
Do you know that moment when a new task appears on your horizon and you simply cannot take one more thing on your plate? The situation cries for delegation.
But you should not only think about delegating tasks that come “on top” of everything else.
Delegation is a powerful tool to build the skills of your team, to motivate them, and provide them with meaning.
The question is not whether you should, but rather who to delegate to, and how to do it.
Let’s assume you have identified a task that is important and needs to be done.
Step One: Assess the task
The very first step is to asses the complexity and urgency of the task. Answer the questions:
- What is the task exactly?
- What are the skills required to complete it?
- How does a job well done look like?
- Who are the stakeholders involved?
- What is the impact of the task?
For example, let’s say you are asked to build & run the “Training corner” at the company clients event in 4 months. Around 1000 people are expected at the event.
- What is the task? Manage a cross-transversal project to build a booth during the company event to boost awareness of the Training offer and give each participant a piece of learning to leave with that day.
- What are the skills required to complete it? Coordination, transversal collaboration, facilitation, communication.
- How does a job well done look like? At the event, participants come to the training corner, join the activities proposed, and leave with a feeling that they learnt something new.Before the event, the collaborating teams had equal say in the preparation, the timeline was clearly established, the work was done in a structured manner with no stress.
- Who are the stakeholders involved? Training teams, Sales teams, Marketing
- What is the impact of the task? A trained customer is an engaged and loyal customer.
At this point, you have an overall idea of the mission. You need to find who is the right person to assign the mission to.
Step Two: Find the right candidate
Second, let’s help you select the right person for the task you identified. The main factors impacting the decision are urgency and skills level.
You can use delegated tasks as stretch assignments to build the priority skills that will provide a long-lasting value for the individuals, the team, and the company.
Use the flowchart below as a frame to guide you in the decision of the right person for the chosen task.
The decision on the top right corner “Do it yourself” can be somwhat counterintuitive. The reasoning here is that if you have assessed that a task is crucially important for the business, but no one else can do it, and the skills linked to it don’t make sense in the long term for your team, your best option is to free up space somewhere else and take the assignment. Thus, you will develop the skills of your team where it makes most sense to ensure lasting performance.
Step Three: Assign the task
Once you have selected the right candidate, it’s time to assign the task.
Use the opportunity to personalise the approach to the person in front of you and use coaching techniques to make it most relevant.
The top 2 things to keep in mind at this point is:
- The mission expectations should be clear and motivating
- You provide the necessary support to develop your employee’s skills and help them succeed in the task.
Explain the mission in details citing the elements you had identified in step 1:Â what is it, what is the impact, what are the necessary skills, who is involved, how does a job well done look like.
The support provided can be time spent with you, or dedicate time to shadow you, but it may also be connecting them to the experts in the field within or outside the company. This could also be formal training, or fantastic resources online to get them started.
Step Four: Monitor and support
Finally, introduce milestones and checkpoints to follow-up on the execution of the task.
Be very specific in defining what you expect at which point in time. Especially when the task is complex, providing this guidance and breaking it down into milestone will serve as clear signposts for your team member.
In order to build the autonomy of your team members, you need to step back. But you also need to be available to jump in to clarify misunderstandings, correct errors, or celebrate successes.
Use delegation as a skill development tool.
Delegation done well can free up valuable time for you, it can inspire trust between you and your team members as well as push their skills to a higher level and thus boost their career advancement.
We easily fall into 5 common traps linked to delegation. Let's see how to overcome them.
Delegation Trap 1: You think you should have the busiest schedule
You are the manager so it’s normal that you pile up tasks one after the other, have back-to-back meetings and keep so busy that you don’t have time to reflect about the future of the team. It’s a common trap to think that you should not give away the tasks that were assigned to you, especially when you move from an individual contributor to a managerial role. An important mindset shift you need to go through as a new manager is that it’s no longer about you, but about your team. In fact, you should delegate to be able to develop the skills of your employees. It will help you free space for the new work that should become your priority — developing the team, the cohesion, the overall performance, and well-being of the group.
Delegation Trap 2: You don’t have time to delegate so you don't do it
We might dread the amount of time needed to teach or explain a task. Actually, when you delegate, you should guide your employees but not instruct them as if this is an Ikea manual. Depending on their maturity and experience, you should give them autonomy and just enough support to get them going. Remember, often the support does not come from you but from peers, or external network.
Delegation Trap 3: You expect others to do things your way
What is important is the final result, not the way to reach it. You have a specific way of working and it got you where you are. Each person is beautifully individual and creative in their working approaches. Take a leap of faith and trust that your employees can reach the expected goal in a different manner, as long as they are left to breathe.
Delegation Trap 4:Â You give tasks to the people who already have the skills
Delegation is a powerful skill development tool. Think about who can benefit from the on-the-job learning experience and step up on their competency stack. What you are looking for is the person who has started developing the skills required and who can reach the next level with the support provided. For example, if someone is catastrophic in public speaking, you will not ask them to present the new strategy in front of 500 people. You can, however, delegate the team meeting agenda preparation and presentation.
Delegation Trap 5: You only delegate the “boring tasks”
Each one of us has a list of tasks we would love to get rid off. However, if you delegate only the “boring” part of your job, this will create a worrying disequilibrium in your team and you will build the reputation of the selfish manager.
When delegating, list what are the task candidates that can or need to be delegated to your team. Link them to the skills desires / or requirements to your team members and prioritise which tasks you will delegate.
We all look at work through a different prism. What is boring to you, can be delightful to others. Always paint a positive picture around the boring task, and link it to the impact it has on the bottom line, or recent objectives.
In the managerial toolbox, delegation is one of the most powerful tools you can use to focus on what requires your attention while developing your team. Your team expects you to delegate and they want to share with you the responsibility of achieving your team goals.
Follow the four steps of delegating and you will notice drastic improvement in the performance of your team.
âž Related Notion templates
âž Related Management Frameworks
