Why and how to delegate effectively

Why should you delegate?

Delegation is perhaps the most important skill you will master as a Manager. It has been frequently observed that manager’s do not do, they enable. Part of this is delegating tasks that you might otherwise do yourself.

Delegating tasks has three key benefits:

• It maximises your time so that you can get the really important jobs done.


• It involves staff members in your project.

The more that people are involved in what you are doing, the more energy that they invest in your goal. The more energy they invest, the more interested they become. Interested staff are motivated staff.

• It provides scope for coaching your staff.

Training your team makes them a more effective and valuable workforce. The more challenging the tasks that you set them, the more capable they will become.

Delegation does not just produce immediate, short-term benefits, but also has a long-term impact on the motivation, efficiency and abilities of your staff.

How should you delegate?

The objective of delegation is to get somebody else to do a task, to the standard that you would expect of yourself. This does not mean that the delegate should do the task in exactly the way that you would do it, but that he or she achieves equivalent end results.

• Communicate: it is essential that delegate knows exactly what you expect, understands how to achieve it, and has the authority to carry out the required actions.


• Delegate objectives, not tasks: in the more repetitive tasks you (or a delegated subordinate!) may need to instruct your staff on the exact procedure that they should follow.

In many cases, however, this is not necessary. If the finer details of the process are not so important, then you are able to delegate the task objective rather than the procedure itself.

This encourages your delegate to think imaginatively and to develop problem-solving capabilities. It’s a good idea to let them know that you are always around to offer additional advice, should they need it.

• Start small: Intimidation leads to procrastination and demotivation. Once your delegate has become used to the smaller and more familiar tasks, the overall project will seem less daunting.


• Be available: if your staff feel able to approach you with any difficulties in their delegated task, then they will be much happier about facing new challenges, and are more likely to achieve successful results.

However, your availability has a flip-side. If you are too easily-accessible, then your staff may refuse to make decisions without your advice. While you want to remain in ultimate control of what goes on, you do not want to find yourself called upon everytime a delegate wants to change font size or find the right colour pen.

Be available, but encourage your staff to come to their own conclusions and make decisions based on sound consideration of the pros and cons.

• Control progress: do not breathe down your delegate’s neck. This will only fluster them, make them feel victimised and frustrate you.

Instead agree on a system of regular reports, reviews and feedback sessions. If you and your delegate both feel that you are on top of the situation, then there will be far less unnecessary concern.