When done effectively, delegating tasks helps to reduce your workload as a manager to focus on more important issues, but simply explaining procedures and setting deadlines may not always be enough to get the job done. Here’s how to master the art of delegation.

As a team leader, you may often have no choice but to delegate tasks to others. That may sound sounds simple, but is not without pitfalls – not everyone finds it easy to hand over responsibilities.

Yet, supervisors should not try to do it all themselves. Done properly, delegating has big advantages. “You can reduce your own workload by delegating certain assignments,” says Susanne Helbach-Grosser, a career coach. “That leaves more time for strategic or other important tasks.” It also builds up trust and strengthens the team spirit. It allows team members to develop new skills and be successful and the strengths of each individual are put to good use as well.

If team leaders never delegate anything, on the other hand, that can dampen the mood among the team. “So, if you don’t delegate any new tasks, but keep all the interesting and complex assignments to yousrelf, that can prove demotivating. Plenty of research exists on that aspect,” says Nandine Meyden, a communication trainer. “When a team grows, it’s best for the leader to invest more and more time in leadership tasks and less and less in operational tasks.”

Delegate suitable tasks

“As a rule, delegation means that you pass on a task in its entirety,” says Meyden. By the way, it’s not just bosses who should delegate, it also makes sense to do so among team members, especially when working on a joint project, says Helbach-Grosser.

Before passing on a task to someone else, ask yourself what the goal of the task is and how much time it should take, says Meyden. Are all the resources available and does the selected team member have the skills required to complete the task?

Not everything is suitable for delegation. “Research, market analyses or preparing presentations are tasks that can be delegated well,” says Helbach-Grosser. Scheduling, co-ordinating and monitoring projects can also be passed on without hesitation. “Generally speaking, entire tasks are easier to delegate than just parts of one. But that varies from person to person.”

Start with smaller tasks and proceed in a structured manner, recommends Helbach-Grosser. “Clear, regular communication and open feedback are crucial.”

Obviously, training, patience, clear instructions and checking the results takes time. However, investing this time and effort will help you save time and effort in the future, says Meyden. After all, staff members want to develop, learn something and feel that managers have confidence in them.

Communicate clearly

Delegating tasks can be a bit trickier if you are not in a leadership position. Whether that’s even possible “depends very much on team culture, the leadership style and previous agreements,” says Meyden.

Delegating a task is not the same as asking a colleague for a favour. That usually implies “that the person has the freedom to refuse the task,” explains career coach Helbach-Grosser. Actual delegation means “handing over responsibility for a task with the expectation that it will be completed.”

The request should be phrased clearly and unambiguously. You should also outline the scope of the task so that your colleague knows exactly what is expected of them. “A briefing is extremely important in this context. Questions about the project should be answered in detail to avoid misunderstandings,” says Helbach-Grosser.

You should also ask your colleague whether they truly feel up to and want to take on the task, says Meyden. “It doesn’t help if someone says: ‘Certainly, I’ll help you’. But they don’t really know how to do it and whether they have the time.”