8 steps to delegate like a pro

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Do you keep an iron grip of your to-do list? As a manager, perhaps you know you should try and delegate more but worry no one else has the skills or abilities to do your tasks properly. 

Besides, it takes time to explain what you need and it’s quicker to do things yourself, right?

Learning to share appropriate tasks won’t just ease your own workload. It’ll also show your team that you trust them, and help them become more successful in the long run. Here are some tips on learning how to delegate effectively.

Choose meaningful tasks

Put some real thought into what you delegate. Rather than offload things you don’t enjoy doing, consider giving your staff tasks which actually entail some real responsibility.

Empowering someone to make their own decisions during a project will give them a sense of ownership and therefore make them care more about the end results.

Explain why you’re delegating

It’s crucial to explain the context behind your decision to delegate a task to someone.

You might find that not everyone is keen to add more to their workload, so help them see this as a chance to develop new skills that will stand them in good stead, or take on more responsibility. 

Talk about why you’ve chosen them as the right person to delegate this work to, how you feel that the tasks will make the most of their skillset, and how your plan is that it will help them grow as an employee.

Give them what they need

Be as specific as possible about what your employee needs to achieve for you. It’s frustrating to be given vague instructions on how to do something, and it means the work’s less likely to be done properly.

Do they know their objectives? Do they have enough information or resources to get the work done? There’s no point delegating an assignment to someone if you know deep down they don’t have what they need to make a success of it.

Keep in touch

Delegating a task doesn’t mean handing it over then forgetting about it - nor should it be about micromanaging someone else to do the work.

While it’s good to let that staff member get on with their new duty, make sure you check in to see they’re getting on OK. Once they know their objectives and milestones and have the right amount of guidance, it’s up to them to crack on.

Give feedback

When a task’s has been completed, aim to give some proper feedback on the end result. Which parts went well? What could that person learn from for next time? What do they think they gained from the process?

The best approach is to view delegation as a chance to grow your team’s skillset. As we know from our work at HR GO recruiting staff for businesses, employees who feel they’re given opportunities to develop are more likely to become loyal members of the team - and stick around for the long term.