7 Best Practices To Delegate Tasks Effectively

What is Delegation?

Delegation is the process of assigning tasks and responsibilities to a subordinate or other members of the team. Delegation happens to divide responsibilities evenly or because a particular task can be handled better by another team member. Delegation is not the same as neglecting responsibility or trying to dump responsibilities onto someone else. Rather, in management, effective delegation demonstrates care.

However, while delegation is an important skill for managers to have, others find it difficult to learn and implement due to fears of relinquishing control or a lack of confidence in the competence of their team.

A manager becomes more efficient in his role when he is aware of when and how to best delegate. Delegation enables a manager to complete their urgent tasks and allows more time to be in their zone of genius. It also opens an opportunity for team members to take the lead in their respective tasks and work on engaging projects. Ultimately, delegation helps an entire team to navigate other skills to learn, harness their skill sets, and promote more teamwork.

Why is Delegating Important?

If you handle a team of people, delegation is an important skill to learn. Why? Because it empowers your team to accept responsibility and gain authority, fosters trust, and promotes professional growth. Additionally, it teaches leaders how to gauge the most qualified team member to take on particular tasks or projects. Delegation gives managers a chance to lighten their workload to focus on crucial tasks like planning, strategizing, and business analysis. In this manner, managers will be able to contribute effectively to the workgroup and their work.

In a way, the delegation of authority allows for the development of subordinates' skills and abilities. The delegation of authority gives subordinates a sense of significance. They become inspired to work, which yields suitable outcomes for a problem. Job satisfaction is crucial in determining whether a relationship between a team is stable and sound. Additionally, delegation encourages creativity and efficiency by breaking up team monotony.

Moreover, a manager's abilities are also enhanced through delegation.  Delegating gives managers the extra time they need to focus on important issues, which strengthens their ability to make decisions and allows them to develop other skills necessary for a manager, such as leadership qualities and communication skills. Therefore, one way to evaluate a manager's competence is through delegation.

To sum it up, delegation is important because it promotes both vertical and horizontal growth, which are equally crucial for a company's stability.

Why People Don’t Delegate Tasks?

1. Loss of Control

Several managers worry that handing off a task will result in them losing control because another individual, instead of them, will complete it. They believe that they can complete this task more effectively.

However, if you want to be an effective manager, you should not let the small things keep you from seeing the bigger picture. All you need is to stay informed of the progress while consistently communicating with the assigned person for the task. Give prompt feedback on what worked, what didn't, and where adjustments can be made. Also, remember that even if you have delegated tasks and authority, as a manager, you are still responsible for the whole project, even if you are not actively working on it. 

2. Not Enough Time to Mentor

One of the main reasons why managers hesitate to delegate tasks is because they believe that they need more time to fully explain the details of the tasks to their team members. Oftentimes, they view it as a waste of time because it requires more work, and they would rather accomplish the task themselves than respond to questions about the delegated task.

Here, a shift in perspective is necessary. As a manager or leader, you ought to consider the long-term advantages. Although it might be quicker to complete a task if you do it yourself, but in the long run, all your tasks and responsibilities might add up and become overwhelming for you. By delegating some of your workloads, you'll end up saving a lot of time. All you need to do is be intentional in allotting time to teach and explain to your team members what they need to learn for the tasks. By doing so, you can already concentrate more intently on your tasks as a manager.

3. Don’t Know How to Delegate

This can be arguably one of the primary factors why a manager or a leader doesn't delegate their tasks — it's because they don't know how to.

Once a manager's mindset is firmly fixed on micromanaging, they tend to not notice the bigger picture and not clearly define expectations when delegating a task. As a result, their team members lack clarity for their tasks and are mostly in need of support.

That is why, to be able to delegate properly, a manager must learn to focus more on results. Try to encourage fresh perspectives and methods to hit the targets quickly. Give your team members the freedom and authority they need to carry out their duties in accordance with your expectations. In this way, they can gradually learn to complete tasks given to them with little oversight while still achieving the desired results.

Best Practices to Effectively Delegate Tasks

1. Learn to Comfortably Let Go

As a manager, letting go of one's work might be easier said than done. What hinders most of them from letting go is their dedication to responsibility. But sometimes, their concern over their perceived subordinate's incompetence stops them from letting go. 

A delegation best practice is to start the habit-building process of letting go by assigning only minor, unimportant tasks first. Give your team members time to earn your trust. Work your way up the chain of command and send them more crucial information over time. This encourages teamwork and helps you get to know your teammates better.

2. Communicate Reasons for Delegating

Communicating your reason for delegating is a delegation best practice. Why? Because communicating your reason helps your team members make more sense of what they are doing. Giving them some context about the responsibility they will hold gives them a sense of purpose, and they will be more eager to complete the tasks satisfactorily. A delegation best practice is telling them why you chose them specifically for this job or if they have a particular skill that makes them a good fit. Tell them you want this project to serve as a catalyst for them to develop professionally. This will enable them to see each task as an opportunity to grow personally while also producing fruitful outcomes for the team. 

3. Arrange and Categorize Priorities

There are different levels of skill and effort required for every task. A delegation best practice is to create a detailed system of priorities based on your decided elements to classify the importance of tasks. It's recommended to keep at least four distinct categories. The jobs that require the most skill should be done at your own desk. However, those tasks that call for a lower level of expertise and experience can be handed off to your team members without hesitation.

4. Play to Your Workers’ Strengths 

To be an effective manager or leader, you must be aware of your team member's unique strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, by being aware, you would be able to gauge their potential performance on a task. As a result, you can delegate the best person for the task. Instead of focusing on finding "available" team members, give tasks to those who are particularly "capable."

5. Delegate the Authority

Have you ever been in a position where you were given a task but weren't entirely free to make your own decisions? Where it has to go through a lot of approval channels before you get to actually start or finish? And as a result, the task takes much longer than it ought to.

With this, managers should learn this delegation best practice: delegating authority. Encourage a wholesome, optimistic atmosphere so that your team members can feel secure while making decisions. However, keeping an eye on them and monitoring and reviewing progress reports is always a good precaution

6. Make Use of Feedback Loops

Regardless of your team members' skills, feedback is an essential component of any delegation process. This delegation best practice might be the most effective tool a manager has for enhancing, changing, or praising a subordinate's work.  

7. Say Thank You

Never take your team's sincere efforts for granted. Although they are being compensated for their efforts, work ethics are still important. Business behavioral research suggests that expressing genuine gratitude for employees' efforts inspires them to perform even better the next time. Regardless of whether they made an error, correct them and let them know you still believe in their abilities. Be sure to acknowledge and congratulate them on the project's accomplishments while constructively criticizing any shortcomings. While it may seem like doing too much, in the long run, it will only help you produce better results.

Conclusion

It's true that delegation is not as simple as it may seem. Although its goal is to simplify the manager's life, it also presents its own set of difficulties. To succeed, you'll need experience, which you'll gain more quickly the earlier you start.

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