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Delegation is one of the biggest challenges that leaders face.  It means letting go and entrusting others to complete work efficiently, accurately, and in a timely manner.  However, delegation is a necessity to ensure productivity, morale, and business livelihood.

Just how much can delegating impact a business?  In one study, over 50 percent of business owners believe they can grow their businesses by 20 percent by delegating just 10 percent of their work. (1)   However, the key is the ability to lead and delegate effectively.

The pitfalls of delegation often co-exist with leadership styles:

  • Micromanagers insist on overseeing and approving every detail of assignments. For these managers, delegation will be a challenge because they are reluctant to trust workers to the tasks.
  • Absent managers will easily delegate (as they often do), but when workers need help, input, or more information, they will not be available.
  • Overwhelmed managers will often delegate tasks out of necessity, as they lack the time to complete the work themselves. These managers will be too busy to provide workers with enough information, which impedes the work’s quality and timeliness.

The sweet spot of delegation is somewhere in between these three leadership styles. Being a good delegator is not an inherent trait. It is a learned skill. Delegating well is much like playing a sport. The more time and effort managers dedicate to learning and improving this skill, the better they will become at it.   Additionally, the better managers become at delegation, the more this generally improves communication, morale, productivity, and enhances leadership traits.

Part of succeeding at delegation involves managers becoming familiar with their workload and identifying which employees are best positioned to take on tasks. The other part hinges on keeping up with the different work styles, strengths, and weaknesses of their reports.

These tips will help managers perfect their delegating skills.

Exercise Self-Awareness

Good work starts with those in management positions. With great power comes great responsibility. When managers consistently take a good, hard look at their strengths, weaknesses, and performance, they can excel at delegation.

Self-awareness allows leaders to understand the impact they have on their team members’ reality. It takes a few small steps to understand the effect of the tasks they delegate. And when they comprehend this impact, managers are in the perfect position to assign and manage this work.  One key element of exercising self-awareness is requesting feedback from employees, whether through formal surveys or one-on-one verbal conversations.

Become Familiar with Work Styles

Overseeing a team means dealing with different work styles, strengths, weaknesses, personalities, and opinions. Yes, the work itself is the top priority. However, to achieve the best quality results, managers must determine how to support these differences.

Why? When managers obtain this information, they gain insight into how to get the employees’ best performance. This insight also helps them choose which tasks to assign to which employees.

PRO TIP –
Don’t just be an observer when delegating; be an active participant.  Learn to ask workers what they enjoy doing the most and what other workers indicate they do the best.  Often, leaders may not be fully aware of hidden insights unless they ask questions and are willing to receive and consider the feedback.

Provide Clear Instructions

This tip may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked. It is easy, especially for managers saddled with a heavy workload and little time, to forgo clear instructions.

Doing so may seem like it will save them time, but this shortcut usually costs managers time. When employees do not have clarity about the outcome their manager wants or the details involved, they will react in one of two ways:

  • Attempt to complete the project by filling in the blanks themselves
  • Constantly ask their manager questions until they finish the assignment

The first scenario often yields subpar, inaccurate, or incomplete work that fails to achieve the desired objective. The second scenario robs their manager of the time they attempted to save.

Give Reasons Why

Along with sharing the ‘hows,’ it is critical for managers to share why each task needs to be completed. Providing workers with the reasons behind the functions should also include the business’s goals. Psychologically, understanding these points about the assignment provides the worker with a framework for their work. By providing a clear vision of the task, the manager helps the worker fully comprehend the importance of their role.  In the long run, workers will then better understand their value to the company, which breeds better morale.

Managers should touch on the following when discussing the whys:

  • Desired outcome
  • Accountability of the employee
  • Deadlines
  • Milestones
  • Touchpoints throughout

While healthy delegation is not always evident, it can be achieved. Doing so requires a bit of additional time and effort from managers – an investment that will generate successful results.

Contact Gavel International to be inspired by solutions that connect and engage your people.

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SOURCES:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-m90oOwZdM

 

This article was last updated on July 11, 2025

Jeff Richards
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