How to Delegate Tasks Effectively

A 2014 Gallup survey shows that leaders who know how to delegate tend to generate more profits and grow a business faster. Assigning duties to junior colleagues is a win-win for everyone. First, it enables them to take ownership of their work. Delegation, when done well, also helps a team achieve the best outcomes.

Common Misconceptions about Delegation

A number of managers have several concerns when it comes to delegation. However, most managers have some misconceptions on what delegation actually is. Here are some of the most common misconceptions about delegation that we need to debunk:

• Delegation is an inferior leadership style.
• Leaders who delegate tasks are inadequate.
• Delegation wastes time and resources.
• Delegating work means the managers are not in control of the workflow.
• Only bosses can delegate.
• Delegation is only for simple tasks.

Benefits of Effective Delegation

Knowing how to delegate has many benefits to the leadership of the organization and the individuals within the team. Some of the benefits of delegation include;

• increases the level of engagement for team members
• fosters a culture of trust and competence within the organization
• frees up time for the company’s leadership to actually lead
• fosters creativity and develops skills among team members
• reduces the incidence of mental health issues in managers

While it is clear that the benefits of delegation are many, not every task can be delegated. And knowing when to delegate and when to retain a task is one of the hallmarks of a great leader. Here is how to know when to delegate and when not to.

What to Hand Off and What to Keep

One of the major issues managers encounter when trying to delegate duties is deciding which responsibilities to delegate and which to keep. Some responsibilities cannot or should not be delegated, and here is how to identify them:

Selecting Which Tasks to Delegate

Routine and Repetitive Tasks: These are best assigned to delegates since they are time consuming and not critical tasks. An example consists of data entry work, appointment making and generating routine reports.
Tasks Requiring Specific Skills: You can delegate responsibilities that are closely aligned with the expertise of the individuals in your team, and what you get in return is usually better quality work done more efficiently.
Time-Consuming Tasks: These are activities that take plenty of time, and it is not really efficient to perform them if you possess specific skills and knowledge that can be better deployed elsewhere.

Tasks to Avoid Delegating

Confidential or Sensitive Tasks: Organizations should ensure security and privacy when undertaking any task and therefore sensitive task s or those task that require high level of confidentiality should not be delegated.
Tasks Requiring Managerial Approval: The tasks that should not be delegated should be those that must be done with your final say or approval because such tasks require your direct involvement.
Critical Decision-Making Tasks: Functions that entail decision-making that may have far-reaching consequences for the company should be retained with leadership due to their potential consequences.

Assigning Tasks to the Right Team Members

Part of knowing how to delegate involves identifying the best people to carry out specific tasks. In order to use delegation to achieve maximum productivity while guaranteeing the success of delegated assignments, it is important to recognize your employees’ skills and weaknesses, as well as their career paths.

Evaluating Employee Strengths and Weaknesses

While assigning tasks among team members, ensure that you are familiar with each of the workers’ strong and weak points. Consider the following:

Skills and Competencies: Know the distinct talents and abilities of every team member. For instance, if a person is particularly good at data analysis then probably they can be suited for detailed data centric assignments.
Experience and Expertise: Consider the past experience each individual on a given team possesses concerning a particular task.

Matching Tasks with Employees’ Skills and Career Goals

To ensure that you are delegating effectively, it’s important to align delegated tasks with your team members’ career goals and ambitions. Here are some guidelines to consider:

Professional Development: Ensure that you give out assignments that enable the team members to acquire new expertise that can advance their careers.
Skill Building: Assign activities that make your co-workers have to develop new skills and discover new talents. This creates opportunities for personal growth and can strengthen the overall skill set of the team.
Interest Alignment: Delegate tasks to team members that grab their interest as much as possible. These could translate to desire, dedication, and better performance.

The Importance of Trust and Reliability in Delegation

Simply put, you cannot delegate effectively without trust. You need to trust your team to execute the duties you are assigning them, otherwise you run the risk of inefficiency through micromanagement. To build trust, you will need the following:

Clear Communication: Clearly state the expectations you have to the team members regarding the task so that everyone can know what is expected of them.
Reliability: Select members who have a track record of reliability when executing tasks.
Empowerment: Allow your team members full authority to make decisions regarding the tasks you assign to them as their expertise could offer a more efficient solution.4

Create a Supportive Environment

Closely related to trust, creating a supportive environment is key to successful delegation. When employees feel supported, they are more creative and willing to take risks which could benefit the bottom line. Here are some guidelines to help you create an environment that aids delegation:

Resources and Tools: Ensure you avail your team members all the necessary elements that they require to accomplish the working assignments.
Ongoing Support: Be present to offer assistance as required without being overbearing to the extent of getting in the way of one’s productivity.
Feedback and Recognition: Give some insights on the work done in your team and appreciate the work of the employees too. It is also worth noting that positive reinforcement could go a long way in enhancing the morale of an organization and its workers.

Importance of Effective Communication

When delegating work, it is essential to set and explain clear goals of the task then make sure that the team members feel valued in the process. This includes;

• Being specific on what is expected of the employee or team.
• Offering directions and explaining why that work is essential.
• Setting clear reasonable goals
• Dividing larger tasks into sub-tasks
• Implementing protocols for reporting, consulting, feedback and review for accountability.

Setting up forums for asking questions and providing feedback such as daily check-ins and an open-door policy fosters communication and allows for quick issue resolution. Keeping the records of the communication helps to avoid misunderstandings and provides documentation for the delegation.

Training and Resources for Delegation

It is crucial to make sure that delegation is carried out efficiently and the resources and training to do so are available. It helps get a task done properly as well as assist in individual staff member’s development.

Here are some guidelines you could follow when training your team members for effective delegation:

• Formal Programs: Topics that may cause confusion include the need to implement training for specialized tasks.
• On-the-Job Training: Make use of practical training where you would like your employees to have hands-on experience.
• Mentorship: This is a crucial point due to the fact that the new members should be paired with their seniors for advice.
• Feedback Loop: Engage the team in giving feedback so that there is an assessment of the rest of the training requirements.
• Monitor and Evaluate: Make it a standard procedure to evaluate the impact of the training that has been conducted.
• Recognize Growth: Recognize and reward team development.
• Transfer Sessions: Conduct meetings for the members of the team to allow them share information.
• Knowledge Bases: Retain a record or database of vital information and papers.

Monitoring Progress and Providing Feedback

There is no doubt that delegation of work has its benefits as it is a major part of effective leadership; however, another part of leadership is to monitor progress and to provide constructive criticism where necessary.

In order to monitor progress and provide feedback, you should do the following:

• Regular check-ins: Regular check-ins keep tasks on track and team members supported.
• Offer constructive feedback: Constructive feedback helps team members learn and improve.
• Give timely Feedback: To reach the employees as soon as possible for correcting the mistakes and also motivating the performance of the company.
• Recognize successful task completion: Recognition and rewards motivate team members and reinforce positive outcomes.
• Offer Incentives: Provide incentives such as additional days off or special awards, training, or tuition to upgrade their skills.

Boosting Confidence through Delegation

Delegating tasks to your subordinates boosts their confidence and their sense of agency within the organization. Here are some of the ways that you can deliberately boost your team’s confidence through delegation;

Encourage Autonomy and Decision-Making

Delegation enables one to grant the human resource the authority to make their decisions on how to handle the responsibilities assigned to them. It assists in empowering them to learn how to solve problems and this increases the morale as they learn the value of their work.

Create Opportunities for Professional Growth

Delegation can be especially helpful as a professional development tool, as it allows them to gain new experience, get promoted and further one’s career. Creating an environment which promotes autonomous learning and providing assistance for development helps to create an organized and self-assured staff.

Common Delegation Mistakes and Fixes

Micromanagement causes a decline in personnel motivation. When managers focus on the nitty-gritty, they hinder people’s autonomy, which, in turn, results in low morale, frustration, and decreased creativity.

Failure to follow up usually results in a delay in completion of projects and generally poor quality work. Working meetings and progress updates are crucial to ensure the teams have not deviated off course.

Balancing delegation is crucial. For instance, over delegating may cause team members to be overburdened while under delegating may slow down the organization’s work and denies the employees the chance to build on their expertise. Encourage equitable dispensation of tasks according to the abilities and workload of the personnel to improve efficiency and engagement.

How to Delegate Tasks Effectively? Team up With Wing

When delegation is done well, then organizational performance and productivity are enhanced, there is a boost in morale amongst employees, and the organizational structure becomes more flexible. It helps to build a team approach, create trustful relationships, and rely on the further professional growth.

Keep on practicing and developing delegation as part of the growth of your team and organization for better and improved results. Promote delegation as a way to strengthen, encourage, and empower a competent and committed workforce.

With Wing Assistant, you can address your delegation requirements and improve your delegation skills to further your business’ growth. Schedule a call with us today to learn about our solutions that can increase the productivity and efficiency of your team in delegation.

Aya De La Cruz-Pandy

Aya is Wing Assistant’s blog manager. When she’s not wrangling content briefs, editing article drafts and handling on-page SEO, she is crafting messages for Wing’s other communication materials. Aya writes about SaaS startups, marketing for startups, search engine optimization, and pop culture.