Don’t Ditch the Delegation!
3 things to do to free up your time AND grow your team’s impact.
Sofia knew her to-do list was quickly becoming impossible to conquer on her own. She read a book on time management which urged her to delegate some tasks to her direct reports. But every time she thought about assigning another busy person one of her own to do’s, a pervasive sense of guilt came over her. She didn’t want to be the boss who caused everyone to resent her by making them work overtime while she went home on schedule. “Delegation might be a nice idea, but it doesn’t feel like it’s going to work for me,” Sofia thought.
Having trouble with delegating is a major cause of burnout. And research has shown that women in leadership are less likely than men to delegate. Due to feelings of guilt or fear of being seen as bossy or as shirking our own responsibilities, we try to do everything on our own. And when we do delegate, we often hesitate to check back in with people to make sure the tasks got done correctly.
Time-management experts urge us to delegate, but there are real reasons why it’s challenging, especially for women:
Fear of being resented by your team.
Like Sofia, you may fear you’ll just be dumping more on busy employees’ plates, causing resentment. But that won’t be the case if you delegate thoughtfully. In fact, research has shown that delegation can be psychologically empowering to employees, promoting a culture of asking for feedback as they tackle new challenges. When you pair up the right tasks and people, your employees will be honored you chose them!
The belief that only you can do it.
You may believe no one else is prepared to handle the tasks on your plate.But that’s a short-term problem that you can solve with long-term planning. Making this initial investment of time will help people level up their skills, benefiting their careers along with your own well-being.
Fear of not being valued.
You might think that if you can’t finish every task on your plate, you won’t be seen as indispensable. But your job as a leader centers on delegating effectively, not doing everything alone. By delegating well, you’re affirming your skill as a leader, not undermining it.
Let’s look at how to handle delegation artfully so it provides meaningful growth opportunities for the people you lead.
Plan what to delegate
First, assess your current task load and whether you’re the best person to handle each of these responsibilities.
Look at what’s on your plate.
Write down each major responsibility and then list the tasks involved.
Assign each item a number from 1–5 to signify the level of responsibility needed, with 5 being the highest.
For each task below level 4 or 5, which ones are the most time-consuming? Which ones align less strongly with your skillset or interests? Those are the ones you’re going to prioritize delegating.
Consider who can help, and how.
Write down the names of people who are best equipped to handle those tasks—possibly with a little training and practice.
Consider whether anyone on your team would benefit from taking on a level-4 task. Assess which ones might be a good fit for certain people.
Ask yourself, “Did anything get shuffled onto my plate that doesn’t belong there?” If so, consider whether a peer might be better positioned to handle it.
You now have a good idea of what to delegate. Let’s take a look at how to prepare others to take on these new responsibilities.
Prepare others to delegate
Thoughtful preparation will make delegation a positive experience for your team, ensuring that tasks get done well.
Assess interest. Have thoughtful conversations to assess people’s interest in plugging into certain tasks or projects. Explain what you’re hoping to prepare them for so they can have a goal to aspire toward.
Give employees stretch projects. Maybe the task you want to delegate can be the stretch project itself, or maybe the employee needs to master a stepping-stone task first.
Here are a few ways to do this:
Try breaking down the task you want to delegate into multiple steps, giving them one to handle on their own.
Find a similar but slightly less challenging task for them to try first. Provide plenty of guidance and feedback, but trust them to carry it out.
Have the employee take on the entire task, maintaining close communication with you throughout the process or collaborating with you on it.
Have employees shadow you for certain tasks. For example, if you want an eloquent employee to start giving presentations to clients, have her observe you in action. Show her how you prepare and discuss how it went afterward. After several sessions, ask her to start delivering a segment of the presentation alongside you.
Ambitious employees will appreciate these learning opportunities, knowing that you’re investing in their future.
Take action!
It’s time to take the leap. Be brave! Thoughtful delegation means finding the right balance between trusting people to carry out the task and being available to provide guidance.
Assign responsibility for achieving the desired outcome rather than for carrying out a task. It’s a subtle difference that allows for independent thinking rather than forcing people to mechanically follow a certain process (unless that truly is necessary for the sake of safety, of course).
Give this person the authority needed to carry out the project. For example, tell your peers in other departments that this person is handling it now.
Agree on a timeline and how updates will be shared. For example, if you’d like updates during your weekly check-ins, make that clear.
Follow up by discussing lessons learned with your employee. Every delegation experience should be followed by a conversation where you share feedback about what went well and go over any needs for growth.
Share praise and let others know about the employee’s accomplishments.
Once Sofia used these steps to prepare for delegating, she no longer felt guilty about it. She approached several direct reports about tasks she felt they were best equipped to handle, and they responded with enthusiasm. During a team meeting, she asked for a volunteer to handle one component of an important project that she’d felt overwhelmed by. Three hands shot up. This affirmed for Sofia that delegation truly could provide growth opportunities that her team would value!
Ready to delegate more so you can get to what’s most important for your leadership? Coaching will help jumpstart your goals. Schedule a call to learn more!
To start leveling up your leadership with one-on-one coaching from Amanda, schedule a call to learn more!
Sources
Fast Company, “Leaders, Don’t Forget This Time Management Technique as You Bring Workers Back”
https://www.fastcompany.com/90679498/leaders-this-1-management-technique-is-key-to-a-return-to-work?partner=feedburner
Modupe Akinola, Ashley E. Martin, & Katherine W. Phillips (2018), “To Delegate or Not to Delegate: Gender Differences in Affective Associations and Behavioral Responses to Delegation,” Academy of Management Journal, 61(4). https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amj.2016.0662
SHRM, “Managers Must Delegate Effectively to Develop Employees”
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/organizational-and-employee-development/pages/delegateeffectively.aspx
Xiyang Zhang, Jing Qian, Bin Wang, Zhuyun Jin, Jiachen Wang, & Yu Wang (2017), “Leaders’ Behaviors Matter: The Role of Delegation in Promoting Employees’ Feedback-Seeking Behavior,” Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 920. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5461250/