Best ways to delegate tasks at work

An efficient way of working is by delegating tasks to those who can handle them effectively. It sounds and looks easy but passing on tasks needs communication, trust and of course coordination. If you learn to delegate tasks, everyone on your team wins. They get to learn new skills and tasks that they can develop over time and it saves you the time to prioritise on those other tasks that need your focus and energy more.

What is delegating?

This means to give and assign responsibilities to certain members of your group or team to save time consuming tasks to be more efficient in the workplace. This also helps identify who are the right people for the right type of task which then helps increase other’s commitment, capabilities and productivity.

This is also a type of leadership style that managers use to reach goals more efficiently by sharing authority and responsibility with their team.

Importance of delegation

Delegation allows you to entrust the task to other person whose skills are aligned to it. Leaders have the right make delegation part of their leadership style. By delegating leaders are able to identify who can work better on future tasks and projects.

Delegation promotes productivity and time management which allows each member to do their roles and allowing them to develop more knowledge. It is also important since it helps develop a safe workplace that enables each member to open up and share ideas, concepts with confidence.  

Fear of delegating tasks

Delegation does not work for every leader, here are some common reason why:

• They resent the idea that someone else may get the credit for a project.
• They are willing to delegate in principle but are afraid their team won’t be able to handle more responsibility.
• They suspect that their staff is already overworked and feel reluctant to increase their burden.
• They suspect that it’s simpler and quicker just to do a task themselves.
• They dislike the idea of letting go of tasks they enjoy doing.
• They fear that if they delegate responsibility, their manager will conclude that they can’t handle their workload.

Effectively delegating tasks

1. Know how to Delegate
   Understand how much of the task you can control and entrust it to the rest of the team. Identify which assignment is best suited for each individual in your team. Ask yourself these questions when choosing who and what to delegate.
   Do you have to be in charge of this task, or can someone else pull it off?
   Does this require your attention to succeed?
    Will this work help the employee build their skill?
   Do you expect tasks of this nature to recur in the future?
2. Leave your ego at the door
   Remove your ego when finding the right person for the assignment. Trust that your team can complete their duties. Regardless of how much you would want to do it yourself, trust that the task will be finished even if you did not have to do it.
3. Identify your tasks
   First, identify the assignments and determine what kind of skills are necessary for it to be complete. Take note that not all tasks can be delegated, there are some tasks that you need to do yourself. For example; management.
4. Choose the right person
   Talk to your team, find out what kind of skills, knowledge and experience they have. Observe them and see if they have work goals they wish to achieve. Someone might want to take a chance in a management or a different role. You are not micromanaging them, you are allowing them to expand their career.
5. Play to your employee’s strengths and goals
   Get to know your employees to understand their skills, strengths and goals. Test their capabilities to see how they can succeed.
6. Define clear expectations
   Take time to set clear expectations in tasks that your team may have little to no experience with. Inform them that they can come to you if they have any questions or difficulties with their assignments.
7. Come up with a clear process
   Once expectations are set, you can help your team plan how to carry out the task/project.
   This may come in a form of:
   – Checklist
   – Milestones they should cross before due.
8. Schedule Training Time
   Never set your team to take a task without giving them a proper training to complete it. Setting time to discuss what the task about will help them to prepare and get a specific training needed. Set a time to discuss the task so that they can prepare and get the specific training needed.
9. Give them support
   In a team its common to have a member that experiencing difficulty on the tasked given, assuring them that’s ok, you let them feel that your open to help them and willing to answer to any question that they have, and give them constructive feedback on their progress.
10. Provide immediate feedback
    Having clear communication with your team so you can use to get and give feedback. Recognise that there doing well and give them feedback on what thing they still need you improve or develop.
11. Follow up regularly
    Having a regular follow up, can ensure you that there is progress on the task you gave and it is being done correctly.
12. Encourage questions and suggestions
    Check in with your team and see if they need additional support or clarification in any areas of their assignments. Let them know that you are open to having suggestions in finishing and clearing tasks. This will make it known that you trust them as much as they trust you.
13. Be patient
    Remember: As someone who is managing, you likely have more experience in your field than the person you are giving the task to. But be patient, you also have started where they were and with your guidance they can be able to do the tasks efficiently just like you.
14. Show your appreciation
    When a colleague successfully finishes a task, show your genuine appreciation and point out all the things that they did right. Not only does this inspire confidence in them but it also shows them that any new task you give they are able to complete.