How To Know When to Delegate
In previous articles we’ve written about how delegation is a win-win when done properly. Yet, that doesn’t mean that you can delegate anything and everything. To determine when you should delegate I’ve learned that it is helpful to ask yourself a series of questions.
When You’re Deciding Whether To Delegate Work, Ask The Following Questions
To determine when delegation is most appropriate there are 8 key questions you can ask yourself:
- Is it critical for you to be in charge of this task/responsibility?
- Does this task/responsibility require your involvement and attention to be successful?
- Is there someone else who can accomplish the task or carry out the responsibility better than you?
- Is there someone else who has sufficient time and expertise to adequately complete the task or carry out the responsibility?
- Is there someone else who has sufficient time and could be taught how to complete the task or carry out the responsibility?
- Does the task/responsibility provide an opportunity to encourage, grow and develop another person’s skills?
- Is this a task/responsibility that will recur in the future?
- Do you have enough time to delegate the task/responsibility effectively? Time must be available for adequate explanation of expectations, for training, for feedback, for opportunities to check progress, and for evaluation.
If you can answer “yes” to most of the above questions, then it could well be worth delegating this task or responsibility.
Other Factors To Consider
In most cases there are other factors that should be considered before delegating a task, responsibility or project.
What are the timelines and deadlines?
- How much time is there available to do the job?
- Is there time to rework the job if it’s not done properly the first time?
- What are the consequences of not completing the job on time?
What are your expectations?
- How important is it that the results are of the highest possible quality?
- Is an average or adequate result good enough?
- What would be the impact of a failure?
By asking and answering the above questions, you’ll be able to delegate the right tasks, responsibilities, and projects to the right people in the right way, and that is a recipe for successful delegation.
Posted on May 18, 2021
