5 Reasons We Should Delegate and 4 Reasons We Don’t
Delegation, at its most basic level, is getting work done through and with others, whether they work for you or not. There are a lot of reasons to delegate and a lot of reasons that we do not. In short, you have to let go of the work you are holding onto and hand it off to others while you prepare them to do the work, assist them in completing it and follow up on the completion of the work. You should do so with influence and patience.
If you have a team that you manage directly, you have direct authority over that team, and you can easily delegate work to them as a part of their regular jobs. However, you may be delegating to team members that are peers, or in another department, and they work for someone else. This may require more collaboration and patience than even delegating to a team you directly manage. In either case, you have steps to follow to ensure success and maximize the experience for everyone. This blog will take a look at these steps, as well as examine why we delegate and how to do it well.
5 Reasons To Delegate
Delegation at its most basic level is getting work done through others, whether they work for you or not. There are so many reasons to delegate aside from the fact that doing so means we can be doing other things.
1. Delegation helps people fully develop their own potential. When they take on a task, they learn, grow and develop. They feel trusted and valued. They feel supported because they are being given opportunities to develop.
2. Delegating work can free your time to do more work at a different level, or get some things done you know would help your team, but you haven’t had time to do. For instance, if your team can be elevated with better roadmaps, better focus on sharing your ideas or what you do, with other departments, delegation can give you more time to do these things.
3. Delegation often gives work a breath of fresh air. By asking someone to do work who has not had experience doing it, they will often generate new ideas or efficiencies that you don’t see because you have been doing the work for so long.
4. Delegation to a group of others enables better collaboration, which builds a very solid foundation for team productivity and collaborative problem solving.
5. Delegation enables engagement of a team, which builds confidence and energy. The engagement also helps us understand the strengths and possible areas of growth for ourselves and for the people we have asked to do the work.
4 Reasons We Often Don’t Delegate
1. “I think I can do a better job than others at the things I can ask them to do.” While this may be true, at first, you will not free up your time and others will not learn if you choose to keep doing things yourself.
2. “I don’t want to burden others with the things I believe they don’t have time to do and/or things that I don’t want to do.” Remember that new things are challenging to people. You may be tired of doing something or feel like it is mundane, but it is highly likely that exposure to new work and the process of learning new skills required to do the work will energize the person to whom you are delegating.
3. “I don’t think about delegating in enough time to train others to do the work.” The best way to get out in front of this is to plan for the training and development of your team. You may wish to create a Delegation Plan, outlining tasks you will ask others to do and due dates so that you can follow up.
4. “I simply can’t let go of things easily.” If you like to be in control of your work, letting go takes practice and a willingness to take risks. Remember that if you decide to toss something over to other people to complete, you are best served to keep an eye on their progress and follow up regularly. If you feel like you have to rein in work because it isn’t getting done on time or isn’t getting done correctly, try to have patience and continue to coach and teach the people doing the work, rather than taking it back from them
Key Ingredients to Delegate Well
Tell – Communication is the first step to any effort to delegate. In this communication, you need to give them the facts they need to be successful. Remember to use your Delegation eXcelerator™ as a guide to understand what you naturally want to communicate and what you should be communicating to people, based on their methods. Remember that Evergreens want detail and “how-to,” while Changing Leaves want objectives and autonomy. Both need follow through and guidance.
Teach – When people receive a new task to complete, they need to learn how to do that task. As the person delegating the task, you will likely be the one training them or making sure that they get the training they need. Evergreens will want a process to follow, while Changing Leaves will want key aspects of the task while allowing them to figure out the rest. If at all possible, allow for both. Remember that most people cook with a recipe the very first time to get a feel for how the ingredients work together. When learning a new task, most people want to see an example the first time. Some will continue to follow that example while others will change it up while still meeting the stated objectives. Make an effort to be open to both.
Coach – The most important part of coaching is the follow up. When you delegate a task, you are signing up to walk alongside people doing the task until they know how to do the task on their own. The only way you can do that is to check in with them frequently to follow up on their progress and see if they have questions. Doing so will allow you to continue to teach individuals and that teaching becomes coaching. To be a good coach, you need patience and a willingness to let them keep the task even if they run into problems. Maybe you give them an assist the first few times, but don’t take it away completely (and never give it back) at the first sign of trouble.
Development Tips for Delegation
- Identify the things you can delegate and pick the best people to do the work. Then, pick two items that you feel you cannot delegate. Give those items to people who can grow the most from receiving them.
- Once work is delegated and the proper teaching has taken place, walk away for a few days while the people to whom you assigned the work have time to work through it. Be sure to give the appropriate amount of detail so they can be successful, but not so much that they lose their autonomy.
- Keep a list of the tasks you delegate, along with assigned deadlines to which each person commits.
- Set up a tickler file to track project deadlines. Ask your employees the status on the days that project pieces are due.
- Match the tasks you delegate to people’s strengths, or the strengths you want to help them develop. For example, ask one employee to assist you in preparation for meetings and presentations if they can grow in this area. Make sure each task you delegate is relevant to that person’s capabilities and strengths so that they will be able to do the work, but also be sure it is challenging them wherever possible. This will help in developing the team.
- Keep a log; become proactive in identifying resources to assist you.
- When giving instructions for the tasks you delegate, know employees well enough to understand what methods they prefer to use at work. If they prefer autonomy, give less detail in your instructions. If they prefer more details, then provide those. Always be clear about the urgency level of the tasks, deadlines, etc.
- If you are brainstorming with your team and truly want fresh ideas, it’s best to start with less detail and listen to what others have to say first. If you are needing a little more from them than what they are providing, provide a little prompting, but not so much that they can’t create their own ideas.
- Don’t wait more than 1 week between follow-up for an employee who is struggling. Show trust in the person to whom you are delegating. Show them that you believe they can complete the task but don’t “hover” over their every move. It is certainly okay to check in occasionally to ask how they are coming along. Be sure your expectations are clear and check in with the employee often. Hold enough dialogue that both you and the employee are clear about expectations. Address issues in a supportive tone, and be sure to gain the employee’s commitment to success.
- If you tend to do things your way, focus on being flexible enough to give others the latitude to figure out other ways.
- Delegate routine tasks. If this is hard for you, examine and understand why.
- If you are hesitant to delegate because you don’t want to trouble others, remember—that is how they grow.
- If you don’t delegate because you don’t have time, focus on getting organized and ahead of schedule so you will have time to involve others.
- Make a complete list of your regular tasks. Then, determine the most basic skill level needed to complete each task. Is there another person within your department/hierarchy that could complete the task effectively? If a task does not absolutely require your abilities and skills to complete it effectively, this is a good sign that a task could be delegated. Identify who else could complete the task today and/or who could, with some training and development, complete the task for you in the future. Begin the process of getting these people ready to do some of the work on your plate.
Delegating in the workplace holds immense value as it fosters efficiency, productivity, and growth within a team or organization. By distributing tasks and responsibilities to team members based on their strengths, skills, and expertise, delegation optimizes resource allocation and time management. This approach allows leaders to focus on high-priority strategic initiatives while empowering their team to take ownership of their roles and projects.
Delegation promotes skill development and knowledge sharing among team members, leading to a more versatile and capable workforce. It cultivates a culture of trust and collaboration, as team members feel valued and empowered to contribute their best efforts to achieve common goals. Ultimately, effective delegation is a cornerstone of effective leadership, propelling the organization forward towards success and fostering a dynamic and harmonious work environment.
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The most successful teams understand, respect, nurture, and reap the benefits of various preferences. Participants learn to judge less, embrace differences and complement each other’s strengths. EDGES™ ultimate goal is to provide individuals and organizations the tools needed to create a workplace environment rich in adaptation, connection, and alignment. We believe your team can achieve complementary cohesion as a result of working with us. If you are ready to strengthen communication in your organization or want more information about the Inter Face Method™ tool, go to interfacemethods.com.