How to Delegate Effectively Without Micromanaging

You can watch my video by clicking on the graphic below or read my thoughts beneath it:

What is the best way to hand off a delegated task? This is a question that was dropped into the comments underneath a previous video on delegation, so now it is time to answer that. One way, of course, to hand off a delegated task is is to simply give a list of steps, hand it to the person, and say, “Do this.” That sometimes works, but not always.

Number 1, that person may not understand all of the steps on the list, and number 2, there’s not really a whole lot of buy-in, and they’re not aware of how this particular task and doing these steps fits into the grand scheme of things, so it just becomes, “Oh, this little checkbox item,” I’ll work on it later.

better way to hand off the task is to sit down with the person, and this is part of the reason why people don’t like to delegate, because it does take some time up front, but eventually, if it’s a task that needs to be completed more than once, you’re investing time in this person to do it correctly so you can remove it from your plate.

So you want to sit down with this person and go over the task. So let them know what the end result is going to be, and then ask them, what do you think is the best way to get that end result? So let them come up with the steps that they would need to take in order to complete it, what different checkpoints can be at the beginning if they’re not sure, if they have questions, or where they can have their work basically double-checked on the first couple of tries to make sure they’re doing things But by asking them how they would complete it in a high-performance manner, then they are becoming independent thinkers.

So they’re not just robotic going through a list of motions on a checklist. They are developing a way to complete this. And what’s really neat is that sometimes they can come up with a way that is possibly more efficient and more effective than your way or the old way or however it was done before.

So it does take a little bit of time at the beginning, and you obviously wouldn’t do this with just a one-off task, but if, if this is going to be a task that’s supposed to be completed multiple times, asking them how they would complete it is a so, so much better way than just handing them a list of steps.

Now, once they have figured out how they want to complete this and they’ve gone through the motions, it is a good idea to have them capture their steps so you do have operating procedures in writing. So if anybody did need to step in and cover for that person, they have all of the steps there.

And of course, as a part of this process, as I mentioned in the previous video, is having them understand how this particular task fits into the grand scheme of things. Why is it important to complete this task? How does this task support the goal, the objective, the mission of the team, the department, the company?

Ask them about that as opposed to just telling them, because when you ask them the questions and they have to develop the answers, then that means they understand the situation far more clearly. And are going to perform at a higher level. If you have any other questions about time management, please be sure to drop it in the comments.

If you have a question related to office productivity – about how to be more efficient and effective during your workday – please be sure to drop your questions in the comments below, and I’ll be sure to answer it in one of my next videos / blogs.

For more insights on effective delegation, team accountability, and time management, check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.