Delegating Delegating

Do your people know how to delegate?

People are busy these days. One of the best ways to keep from being overwhelmed by tasks and deadlines is to get your direct reports to handle more of the workload.

When we delegate tasks to our direct reports, we need to also be aware of their own time commitments and other deadlines. And in order to keep them from being overwhelmed, as well, it helps to make sure they know how to delegate, too.

Some things to teach when teaching delegation:

• Make sure that the person knows what to do and when it needs to be completed

• Don’t delegate and abandon—make sure the person knows when (and who) to ask for guidance or assistance, so they don’t waste hours going in circles

• When possible, provide a template, sample, or checklist, so the person knows what to aim for

• Assume that the person won’t do a new task perfectly the first time. Adopt a “first draft” mentality, and have the person bring the first draft in for review, so they then learn how to polish it up

• What tasks should we delegate? Delegate things that the person will need to learn how to do for career advancement. Delegate the stuff you hate doing. Delegate the fun stuff that the person will enjoy. Look at your to-do list and delegate at least 1-2 tasks each day. Basically, delegate any task that someone else CAN do, either immediately or with some training. Look for ways to free up your time, so you can focus on the things only YOU can do.

(Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash)