Delegating work to your team
I regularly talk to Managers who say “I simply don’t have time to delegate”. Now, if that isn’t one of the most ironic statements ever, I don’t know what is!
When I used to ask why someone doesn’t delegate, these are the typical answers I got:
“It’s too risky - the person I am giving it to might make mistakes and won’t do it as well as me”
“I simply don’t have the time to teach them or for them to be slow whilst they learn”
“I like to keep myself informed and involved in the day to day”
“I actually enjoy doing those tasks myself”
“What if the person I give it to actually does a better job than me?”
Well, all are ‘reasons’ I guess. However, I think they each need some further thought.
Exploring why we don’t delegate
“It’s too risky - the person I am giving it to might make mistakes and won’t do it as well as me”
Yes, it is risky – that person might make a mistake. However, you wouldn’t delegate a job which could cause you the most impact straight away. You would start by delegating an easy task that you shouldn’t be doing yourself.
“I simply don’t have the time to teach them or for them to be slow whilst they learn”
Yes, there is no way around it, it will take slightly longer, of course it will. You want the person to understand what needs to be done. Let’s say the ‘task’ is 5 minutes long, you are probably looking at 20 minutes first time round. 5 to explain it with background/detail. 5 to demonstrate how to do it, 5 to cover follow up questions and perhaps even another 5 to give the person chance to have a go. So yes, seems ridiculous to spend more time doing it. However! Once that person gets it and can comfortably pick this up from you ongoing, then you have 5 minutes back each time. That 5 minutes could be key to you when you are in the middle of a big project.
“I like to keep myself informed and involved in the day to day”
Yes, it’s great to keep your ‘hand in’ and keep involved in the day to day. But there are other ways to do this. Think about the people in your team – who need to grow, want to take on more responsibility, want to take pride in doing the jobs you would normally do.
“I actually enjoy doing those tasks myself”
Yes, and this is a big one. Sometimes we genuinely love the chance to ditch our ‘Manager responsibilities’ and complete some work which isn’t a stretch and is nice and easy. We just need to ask ourselves if that is a good use of our time. If you have the time, great. However, if you are snowed under, then consider who else can do it!
“What if the person I give it to actually does a better job than me?”
Yes, that person might end up doing a better job than you. We just have to cope with that one. You take the credit, as its down to you they have developed so well and have gifted you back time.
How can I be more comfortable delegating?
There are lots of things you need to consider here, and we have many ways to support you with this but for now, I want to share a quick acronym with you to remember if you are going to try and delegate an easy task.
One key thing though, delegation doesn’t just mean fobbing off the work you don’t want to do! Think about the task involved first.
Decide who, what, when & where
Explain the task clearly
Train the person where necessary
Agree follow up points
Inform others
Let go!
Let’s briefly look at each one:
Decide who, what, when & where
Which tasks can and should you delegate? (Other than anything you legally have to complete yourself, most other things could be on that list)
When deciding which tasks, think about:
Does it involve technical or product knowledge which only certain people know?
Is it a fairly small decision/impact outcome?
Is someone else more qualified or experienced than you?
Could someone else develop their own skills by doing this task?
Who should you delegate this to?
Think about the people in your team
What is their current workload like?
What is their current skill level or motivation?
When are you going to do this?
Is the task time sensitive meaning only certain people can do it?
How long will it take to complete?
Explain the task clearly
Make sure you take time to talk through the task to the person you selected. Be clear on the outcome you are looking for; how and when will you follow up and why they are doing the task.
Train where necessary
Someone doesn’t always need to have experience in a task – it may be someone can be trained to perform it well. Remember, any time you spend training someone will be “paid back” every time they complete the task for you in the future.
Agree follow up points
These are important as it helps you to maintain control of the task and it means the person doing it doesn’t feel ‘checked up’ upon all the time. It is your chance to offer support without interfering!
The time between follow up points can and will vary based on what the task is, what the confidence and ability of your team member is and the trust you have in them.
Check your team member is happy with the follow up points (or check in’s) – they may want more than you expect initially.
Inform others
Check if there is anyone else involved in this task that they are aware someone else is doing this on your behalf. You want to make sure the other people know they have your OK to do this and they get all the help they need.
Let go!
This can be toughest one! Try your best to allow your team member to progress the task without you interfering. Your check in’s will help you to have confidence in your team member than they have skills and knowledge to complete it. Your role now is to support….. at a distance!
A simple little acronym to work through if you want to try delegating. Sometimes before you do this, you need to spend some time working through your own time management processes and ways of working to help you save time,. Yes, sometimes you have to spend time to save time, but I promise you, it’s worth it!
We have lots of ways we can help with this, do get in touch if you want to chat some options through.
