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How to Delegate Effectively: 9 Tips for Managers

• 14 Jan 2020

Delegation is a vital management skill . But for some, it’s the hardest to put into practice.

There are several reasons why managers may shy away from delegating work. They might:

• Think it would take longer to explain the task than actually completing it themselves
• Want to feel indispensable to their team by being the keeper of specific knowledge
• Enjoy completing certain projects so prefer not to reassign them
• Feel guilty about adding more work onto another employee’s to-do list
• Lack confidence or trust in who they need to transfer the project to
• Believe that they’re the only ones who can do the job right

Whatever the reason, it’s important to continue honing the skill, as refusing to delegate can have negative consequences. Not only will you overload your schedule and prioritize the wrong tasks, but your employees will miss out on valuable learning and growth opportunities.

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What Is Delegation and Why Is It Important?

Delegation refers to the transfer of responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another.

From a management perspective, delegation occurs when a manager assigns specific tasks to their employees. By delegating those tasks to team members, managers free up time to focus on higher-value activities while also keeping employees engaged with greater autonomy.

According to a Gallup study , CEOs who excel in delegating generate 33 percent higher revenue. These executives know they can’t accomplish everything alone and position their team to tackle tasks they’re confident they’ll achieve—in turn empowering employees, boosting morale, and increasing productivity. In the process, CEOs free up their time to focus on activities that will yield the highest returns and grow the company.

Here are nine ways you can start delegating more effectively to cultivate high-performing teams.

9 Delegation Tips for Managers

1. know what to delegate.

Not every task can be delegated. For example, performance reviews or any personnel matters should be handled by you. After all, hiring the right talent and knowing each employee’s strengths and weaknesses will ultimately make you better at assigning deliverables and transferring responsibility to the appropriate team members.

Several other day-to-day activities don’t require your oversight, though. Is there a task you regularly tackle despite knowing your co-worker is better equipped to complete it? Would assigning the project to other employees help bolster their careers? If there’s someone who could do the work better, or you think this could be a teachable moment, delegate. It will show you trust and value your team, while also giving you time to focus on more strategic projects.

2. Play to Your Employees’ Strengths and Goals

Every employee should have goals they’re working toward, and within those goals are opportunities to delegate. For example, maybe you have a direct report who wants to gain management experience. Is there an intern they could start supervising, or a well-defined project they can own the execution of? The type of work you delegate could factor into their professional development plan.

For other tasks, there’s likely someone on your team with the specific skill set needed to achieve the desired result. Leverage that and play to your employees’ strengths. When someone has a higher chance of excelling, they’re more motivated and engaged , which then benefits the entire business.

Related: How to Become a Better Manager

3. Define the Desired Outcome

Simply dumping work onto someone else’s plate isn’t delegating. The projects you hand off should come with proper context and a clear tie into the organization’s goals.

“You’ve got to have real clarity of objective,” says Harvard Business School Professor Kevin Sharer in the online Management Essentials course . That includes having alignment on “what does good look like” and by what timeline, and “the technique of measuring accomplishment.”

Before anyone starts working on a project, they should know what they need to complete and by when, including the metrics you’ll use to measure the success of their work.

4. Provide the Right Resources and Level of Authority

If the person you’re delegating work to needs specific training, resources, or authority to complete the assigned project, it’s your role as a manager to provide all three. Setting someone up for an impossible task will frustrate both sides; your colleague won’t be able to achieve the desired outcome, and then you’ll likely need to put that work back on your to-do list.

This is also where you need to fight the urge to micromanage . Telling your co-worker, step-by-step, how you would accomplish the task and then controlling each part of the process won’t enable them to learn or gain new skills. Focus instead on what the desired end goal is, why the task is important, and help address any gaps between the outcome and their current skill set.

5. Establish a Clear Communication Channel

While you want to avoid micromanaging, you do want to establish a communication channel so that the person you’re delegating to feels comfortable asking questions and providing progress updates.

“You’ve got to have some way to communicate so that the person you delegated to can come back to you and report,” says Sharer in the Management Essentials course . “You’ve got to have some way along the way to see how things are going. It isn’t fire and forget. That is, ‘I just give you the task and I don’t worry about it anymore. We’ve got to have some way to monitor the progress along the way without me getting in your way.’”

Setting up regular check-ins and providing feedback throughout the project can help with this.

6. Allow for Failure

This step is particularly important for the perfectionists who avoid delegating because they think their way is the only way to get the work done. You need to allow for failure—not because your employees might fail, but because it will enable experimentation and empower the people you’re assigning tasks to, to take a new approach.

If you’re open to new ideas and approaches to the work, you’ll have an easier time delegating when able.

7. Be Patient

As a manager, you likely have more years of experience in your field. Because of this, a task you can complete in 30 minutes might take an employee a full hour the first time they complete it.

You might be tempted to refrain from delegating certain tasks knowing that you can get them done faster, but be patient with your employees. Think back to the first time you completed a specific task early on in your career. You probably weren’t as efficient as you are now; your time management skills have improved.

As you continue to delegate and your employees become more familiar with the tasks that need to be completed, you’ll notice that the work will get done faster over time.

Related: 7 Strategies for Improving Your Management Skills

8. Deliver (and Ask For) Feedback

In addition to monitoring progress, you should also deliver feedback to your employees after the tasks you’ve delegated are complete.

If a task wasn’t completed as assigned, don’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism. Your employees can take this feedback and make changes the next time a similar task is assigned. On the other hand, remember to provide positive feedback and show your appreciation when a task was done well.

To ensure you’re delegating effectively, you’ll also want to ask your team for any feedback that they can give you. Ask your employees if you provided clear instructions and determine if there’s anything you can do to better delegate in the future.

9. Give Credit Where It’s Due

After you’ve delegated tasks and they’ve been seen through to completion, credit those who achieved the work.

“Recognizing that success is because of your team is not only right, but it has the added benefit of making those around you more engaged—making you even more successful,” writes HBS Online Executive Director Patrick Mullane for Richtopia. “It’s counter-intuitive, but not claiming success for yourself will lead to more future wins.”

The more you thank and credit those you’ve delegated work to, the more likely it is they will want to help you on other projects in the future.

Honing Your Delegation Skills

Delegating isn’t easy; it’s a skill that must be practiced and honed over time. But the better you become at aligning the right people with the right tasks and responsibilities, the more effective you’ll become at your job as a manager.

Are you interested in further improving your managerial skills? Download our free leadership and management e-book to find out how. Also, explore our eight-week online Management Essentials course , which will provide you with real-world tools and strategies to excel in decision-making, implementation, organizational learning, and change management.

This post was updated on June 2, 2021. It was originally published on January 14, 2020.

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• Performance

Assigning Tasks: How to Delegate Effectively

There are certain projects that could never be completed if they weren’t broken down into individual tasks, especially those of a certain size and complexity. As soon as your team grows bigger than one or two people, you need to make use of the ability to assign tasks to achieve your goals. 

Last updated: December 21, 2022

8 mins read

There are some customer service superheroes out there who seem to be able to complete all the tasks themselves. But the reality is that most of us need to learn the skill of assigning tasks to others, especially if we are in positions of responsibility in busy customer service teams. This is to ensure that no single person is burdened with the workload, or high-performers are being unfairly assigned a larger proportion of the work available. 

Assigning tasks is essential for high-performing customer service teams that must juggle multiple priorities. 

Anyone who has any experience working in a customer service team understands task assignments, which helps you to get projects completed, customer queries solved and objectives fulfilled. It’s naturally much quicker and more efficient to have multiple employees working on different tasks that make up a project, utilizing their unique skills and experiences to come up with creative solutions. 

Without assigned tasks, projects would never get completed because teams are not working to their full capacity. Some customer problems could never be resolved because they require the contributions of different customer service representatives . Assigning tasks needs to be deliberate since it requires the coordination of multiple members of a team. 

What is task assigning?

Task assigning means allocating and delegating tasks to members of your team for effective project management. The task assigner is aware of the various strengths and weaknesses, skills and experience of individuals and can assign them tasks in pursuit of greater productivity. 

You need to be able to break down projects into component parts so that each individual may contribute to the greater whole. Usually, you will use task tracking or project management tools that can help your team manage their assigned task, and can even offer customer service automations that make assigning tasks easier. 

When assigning tasks is implemented effectively, each team member knows who is responsible for what and when tasks are due. This helps prevent conflicting priorities. Each task must come full circle, with each assignee receiving constructive feedback on how well they have completed the task. 

Even if you assign a task to another team member, they are still reporting into the task owner for approval. 

The importance of efficient task assignments

Efficient task assignment means that customer service teams can work to their full productivity, since each team member understands what they are responsible for. Your task description can break each task down so service reps fully understand the steps they need to take to complete the task, and have access to the resources they might need to be successful. Employees perform better when they are trusted with tasks that help them stretch and grow. 

The entire purpose of a team is to enable different employees to work together effectively and create outcomes that are greater than the individual contributions. Customer service teams that have a plurality of perspectives from multiple people are more creative. A diversity of perspectives contributes to more creative solutions as people with different backgrounds collaborate together. 

Projects are completed much more quickly when you have multiple team members handling all your employee tasks, instead of one person trying to do everything on their own. Task assignment means team members who have both the time and experience necessary to complete the task can all have a role to play. 

Effectively assigning tasks to individual team members gives them a chance to stretch themselves and engage in more professional development. New tasks give more junior customer service reps the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone, and complete different types of work that may otherwise not come across their path. 

There are many benefits to task assignment, not least because it allows the entire team to share the workload. 

The difference between assignment and delegation

While they might at first glance seem to be similar, there is a big difference between task assignment and delegation. Assignment means you assign tasks to a team member and explain exactly how you want things to be done, with clear-cut instructions. Delegation means you are transferring responsibility for the task to your assignee and giving them more autonomy for how that task gets completed. 

Assigning tasks is often repetitive but it nevertheless contributes to the overall completion of the project. A delegated task is more free and gives your team members the opportunity to grow as they figure out how to produce the desired results. Task delegations are based more on outcomes than specific instructions, with the employee figuring out how to complete the task on their own. 

Although task delegation is more autonomous, it nevertheless still requires support from the manager to ensure that the employee has adequate direction. Delegating a task doesn’t mean the manager no longer has anything to do with it, but simply that they are trusting their assignee to take ownership. 

Choosing whether or not to assign or delegate a task means understanding the complexity of the task to be assigned. 

How to assign tasks to team members

Try to remove yourself from the approval process.

When a supervisor assigns tasks to employees, they themselves can become a bottleneck as service reps turn to them for approval during every stage of completing the task. When multiple team members are waiting for sign-off from the same customer service manager, you find that you haven’t actually reduced your workload and you end up micromanaging your assignees. 

When managers are too involved, projects lose momentum as the individual contributors end up waiting around for approval when they could be spending their time on more productive tasks. Customers are kept waiting as individual queries can’t progress without the authority of a manager. 

In order to avoid this problem, you can select a group of dependable people who are responsible for the approval process. Delegating responsibility means that you can be more hands-off in the task completion process, while being assured that the work is being completed to a high standard. Schedule regular team meetings to go over the progress of each task and keep your eye on the ball. 

Effective teamwork only happens when customer service supervisors feel secure enough to let the task go.  

Make your expectations explicit

Unfortunately, we can all fall into the trap of assuming that other people are mind-readers. In reality though, if you don’t give clear instructions to your team members then you’re unlikely to get the result you want. You need to look at your task titles and outlines from the perspective of an outsider in order to formulate clear instructions. 

If you want to better formulate tasks for your team members, break the task down into steps and give time estimates for each step. The more information the better, if you want to empower employees to complete tasks on their own. When employees are informed, they don’t have to waste time referring back to you for more clarity. 

There’s a fine line between clarity and micromanaging. Once you have assigned the task, don’t keep pestering your service rep to check whether they are doing it right. If you’ve given clear instructions, they should be able to complete the task to the best of their ability. 

At the same time, ensure that your employee knows they can always turn to you for help during the task, to guard against failure. 

Set an objective time frame for completion

When employees are assigned tasks, they need to be made aware of the deadline for completion or the task could run on forever. It’s not enough to vaguely say “As soon as you get to it” because some critical customer issue is bound to come along. 

It’s best to actively involve your customer service reps in their time frame for completion, since they are the ones who know best how long it will take them to finish certain tasks. When employees are involved in setting their own deadlines, they are more accountable and more likely to make an effort to meet it. 

If an employee is aware of a deadline, they can let you know if competing priorities have materialized and whether the deadline may need to be reevaluated. It’s best to flag these issues as soon as possible, before they affect the overall progress of the project. 

Without hard deadlines, projects will never get finished as every step gets continually put off until tomorrow. 

Hold your employees accountable

When assigning tasks to employees, make sure that they can account for their working hours somewhere that is publicly accessible to the team. You can use time tracking software that will help other team members understand exactly how someone is progressing with their task and hold that individual accountable. 

If employees are held responsible for their tasks, the project is much less likely to get derailed since you as the customer service manager can become aware if someone is falling behind. If your employee’s current progress looks like they might not meet their deadline, then you can ask them if they need extra help or support. 

Tracking your team’s performance can also help you identify the high-performers and who might be available for extra work. You might also see when team members are spending time on unnecessary tasks that don’t contribute to the progress of the project. Teams will be more efficient when they know exactly where time is being spent. 

If you don’t track your team’s hours, you won’t have visibility into your projects and their rate of completion. 

Assign tasks to the right person

There are several reasons why you might choose a particular person to assign a task to, starting with their relevant skills and experience. When assigning tasks to someone, you want to know that they have the right capabilities to complete the task without too much support from the manager. 

Secondly, you want to know that the person you assign the task to has enough time to complete the task. It’s no good assigning tasks to someone who is already overburdened with customer tickets and won’t be able to give your task the due care and attention. 

Thirdly, you might consider assigning tasks to someone who is in need of development opportunities. Perhaps there might be someone more skilled for the task out there, but you want to give this service rep a chance to learn new skills. In this case, you can assign the task while offering extra support for their professional development. 

Multiple factors come into play when it comes to deciding which person to assign a task to, so make sure you give each one enough consideration. 

Relate each task to a wider perspective

When an employee is assigned a task, it might seem insignificant and menial which will cause them to lose motivation. In order to keep employees excited about completing tasks, relate it to the wider perspective and explain how it helps to meet overall objectives. No task is too small or you wouldn’t be including it in your project in the first place. 

Showing employees how their work has an impact influences them to become more committed to the task. Employees are more engaged and happier at work when they understand how their contribution has a place, and that they are improving the lives of others in their team or of their customers. 

If you can’t see how each task fits into the bigger picture, then perhaps it shouldn’t be included at all. Every task should advance your goals and contribute to the progress of the project. 

If it’s not clear how a task fits into the broader picture, try to imagine what would happen if that task was left incomplete. 

Offer feedback on tasks

Every customer service rep needs to understand their performance, whether the feedback is positive or negative. If an employee has no feedback, they have no idea how their work has impacted the team or whether their task has been successful. Without feedback, employees can’t improve and become more productive members of the team. 

Providing your service reps with feedback means they can move onto progressively harder tasks that help them with their development. Even negative feedback can provide motivation to improve as the employee understands exactly what they did wrong with the task. 

While providing feedback does take some time on the part of the customer service manager, it’s the only way that your team members can become more effective, able to take on more complex tasks that would normally go to more senior members of the team. 

Be sure to phrase your feedback constructively to avoid demoralizing the team. 

Wrapping up

Customer service teams that master the art of effective task assignment are more productive, more creative, and have better solutions than their counterparts who can’t assign tasks. In an efficient customer service team, everyone should know what is expected of them and how their work contributes to the whole. 

Task assignments should be clear, detailed and accountable, with hard deadlines for completion. 

Effective teamwork means you can accomplish more than you could as individuals, and assigning tasks is a big part of working together. With transparency and accountability, managers can monitor how everyone is adding to the project. 

Catherine is a content writer and community builder for creative and ethical companies. She often writes case studies, help documentation and articles about customer support. Her writing has helped businesses to attract curious audiences and transform them into loyal advocates. You can find more of her work at https://awaywithwords.co.

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How to delegate effectively: 10 tips for managers

Delegating is when you reassign work to other team members because it’s more relevant to their workstreams and priorities. If you’re getting started with team or project management, it can be intimidating to delegate work. It’s okay if you don’t know exactly what or how to delegate. In this article, we’ll walk you through when to delegate, and give you 10 tips to help you delegate work effectively. 

Sometimes, the most valuable thing you can do as a manager is to delegate work. Not only does delegating work give you more time to focus on high-impact tasks, it also gives your team members a chance to get involved in interesting projects. 

But knowing what—and how—to delegate can be daunting for new managers. Delegating is a leadership skill you can develop over time. In this article, we’ll walk you through 10 tips to help you become a better delegator. 

What is delegation?

Delegation is the act of redirecting tasks and initiatives to other team members. You might delegate work to distribute responsibility more evenly, or because the task or initiative is more relevant to another team member’s priorities, skills, or interests. 

Knowing when and how to delegate makes you a better manager. Not only does delegating help you get your high-impact work done, but it also gives team members an opportunity to get involved in interesting projects. Effective delegation builds team skills and allows team members to develop new strengths. 

Why is delegation important? 

Delegating work is important for two main reasons: maximizing personal productivity and showing your team that you trust them with important work. The whole is more powerful than the individual—with effective delegation, you can accomplish more together as a team than you can alone. 

Knowing when to delegate responsibility to other team members is a great way to become a more effective leader. This important management skill offers key development opportunities for your team members. Depending on the type of tasks you delegate, delegation can help you build new team skill sets and monitor progress towards professional development plans . 

What stops people from delegating tasks 

It can be difficult to know what to delegate, especially if you’re a first-time manager . Some people struggle to delegate because they:

Worry that it’ll take more time to explain how to do the work than to do it themselves

Don’t understand the priority of the work

Want to work on interesting projects themselves

Feel guilty about assigning more work to other people

Aren’t sure who else can do this work

Want to feel important to their team

When to delegate work

There isn’t just one straightforward scenario for when you should delegate work. But in general, ask yourself a few questions in order to determine if this work is beneficial to delegate. 

Questions to ask before delegating tasks: 

Is this work more aligned with another team member’s priorities?

Is there someone else who has the information and context to do this work? 

Is this work an opportunity for someone else to grow and develop their skills? 

Will this work recur in the future? 

Do I have time to effectively delegate this work, including training the other person, answering their questions, and reviewing their work? 

Is this something I should personally work on (because it’s high-impact or business critical)?

Would failure impact the success of the project? 

Do we have time to re-do the work if necessary?  

You don’t need to answer “yes” to all of these questions in order to delegate work. But asking yourself these questions before delegating work helps you identify the best work to delegate. 

10 tips to delegate work

Learning to delegate work makes you a better manager and allows your team members to get involved in exciting projects. Try these 10 tips to get started with the delegation process:

1. Identify work to delegate

Not everything can be delegated. Some work is strategic or business critical, and would benefit from your personal attention. Before you begin delegating work, evaluate the importance of the work and the implications of delegating it. 

That isn’t to say you can’t delegate important tasks. If there’s another team member with the context, experience, or skill set to do this work effectively, delegating it might be a good option. But keep in mind that achieving a good end result is still your responsibility. 

Good work to delegate includes:

Work that will recur in the future: If you have a recurring task, it’s often worth delegating it to someone else who has the time and energy to do the job well. 

Work that aligns with team member’s interests: If a team member has expressed interest in developing a new skill or honing an existing one, see if there’s any work you can delegate to them to help them build those skills. 

Work that connects to team member’s goals: One of the best ways to delegate is to assign work that connects to a team member’s professional goals. 

2. Practice letting go

Delegating can be difficult for first-time managers and leaders because you’re putting important work into someone else’s hands. You probably feel connected to your work and responsible for it getting done well. 

Learning to delegate is a critical skill, but you also shouldn’t be uncomfortable every time you delegate. So instead, practice handing off small types of work at first, before building up to bigger projects. Be patient—both with yourself and your team members. It will take time to build your delegation skills. In the same vein, team members may take longer to get this work done than you would. But by delegating work, you’re giving team members the opportunity to develop their skills over time and also taking one more thing off your plate. 

3. Clarify priorities

Understanding the priority—and difficulty—of tasks makes it easier for you to delegate. If something is high priority, it needs to get done soon—either by you or by someone else. Depending on the type of work, you can then make the decision to do it yourself or to delegate. 

The best way to clarify priorities is to connect work to team and company goals. When you and your team have clarity on why your work matters, it’s easier to effectively prioritize and get high-impact work done. If you haven’t already, do this by putting all of your team’s work into a shared source of truth, like a project management tool. That way, everyone has direct visibility into who’s doing what by when and why. 

4. Understand each team member’s strengths

Part of delegating is making sure the person you’re handing work off to is set up for success. Effective delegation has two elements: delegating work to team members who have skills in that area, and giving team members opportunities to develop new skills. 

To do this, make sure you clearly understand each team member’s strengths—as well as their interests. Take some time during your next 1:1 meeting to ask them what skills they currently have that they want to develop further, as well as what skills they want to develop that they don’t currently have.

5. Provide context and guidance

When you hand off work, make sure the person taking on the task is set up for success. This includes:

Guidance on how to get the work done

The due date for the delegated task

Context, documents, and details about the work

Tools required to get the job done

The priority, goals, and expectations of the work

The desired outcome

Any related work

Keep in mind that this work might be easy for you to do, but it might be totally new to the person you’re delegating the work to. Take some time to walk them through the assignment and answer any questions they have before they get started to ensure they’re set up for success. 

6. Invest in training

There may be work that no one on your team can do but you. Some managers think that means they can’t delegate the work. But depending on your priorities, it’s often better to train team members how to do the work so they can tackle those assignments moving forward. 

Training takes time—so it’s tempting to just do it yourself. But think of training as an investment in your team members and your own workload. Over time, you’ll recoup the time you spent training since the person will be able to do work. Delegating time-consuming tasks is a great way to build your own time management skills , while also giving team members new opportunities. 

Part of training someone else how to do the work is to give them space to solve problems instead of immediately providing a solution. If the team member doing the work does hit a roadblock, ask questions to prompt how they think they can overcome the roadblock. Instead of providing solutions, try asking the other person for suggestions in order to help them build their own decision-making skills and guide them towards the right answer. 

7. Prioritize communication and feedback

Delegating work is a really good opportunity for two-way feedback and communication . Make sure the person you’ve delegated work to has a way to contact you with any questions, and set up a regular check in, like a 1:1 meeting, where you can review things in more detail.

Provide feedback on their work for any future tasks you send their way. Also, ask for feedback from them—did you give them enough information to succeed? Were there any open questions that would have made getting the work done easier? Keep in mind that delegation is a long-term skill you’re beginning to build, so soliciting feedback helps set you up for long-term success. 

8. Focus on results

When you delegate work, the goal isn’t to have the team member do the work exactly like you would have done it. It’s okay if someone does something differently than you if they achieve the desired results. 

As you delegate and coach team members through work, avoid spending too much time explaining how things should be done. Instead, focus on the end goal, and give the team member the space to come up with their own process for doing the work. This gives them the space to develop their own skills, and also demonstrates that you trust them with the responsibility of figuring out how to do the work. 

9. Trust but verify

Once you’ve delegated work, try to take a step back and give the team member the space they need to do the work. Check in with them periodically to make sure they don’t need any additional support, while also being hands-off enough to show your team that you trust them.

Ultimately, however, you’re responsible for the success of the work. If it’s your first time delegating this type of work, implement a review cycle or follow-up period to review the work that was done, and nudge it in the right direction if necessary. 

10. Give credit once work is completed

Effectively delegating work gives other team members the opportunity to develop new skills and get involved in important projects. Once the work is completed, make sure the team member who did the work is credited for completing the task. 

Other cross-functional team members might give you credit for the work, especially if it’s something you’ve done in the past. Make sure you aren’t taking credit for someone else’s work, and take some time to appreciate your team member for a job well done.

Delegated and done

Delegating work is a great way to not only build your personal management skills, but to support professional development across your team. To set your co-workers up for success, make sure they have all of the information they need to get the delegated task done correctly. 

If you haven’t already, do this with a project management tool . A shared source of truth, like a project management tool, gives team members increased visibility and unlimited access to the context they need to get good work done. 

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How to delegate: 9 tips for delegating tasks at work

Jump to section

What does it mean to delegate

The benefits of delegating

The importance of delegation

Why is it so difficult for some people to delegate?

How to delegate (and how not to)

When to delegate

4 skills for effective delegating

Common challenges of delegating

Being able to delegate tasks is a crucial leadership skill. Effective managers need to know how to delegate and what they can do to ensure success. But the act of delegating is easier said than done.

Managers have trouble delegating for a variety of reasons. 

• It requires trusting your team
• It can be hard to let go of projects you’ve owned from their ideation
• It requires more feedback cycles than when you do the work yourself

Concerns like these are valid and understandable. Sharing your legos can be tough. But knowing how and when to delegate your work can be a lifesaver in the long run.

Let’s talk about the importance of delegation and 9 ways to make delegation more streamlined.

What is delegation?

Delegation is the act of assigning tasks to other members of your team. It improves efficiency and decreases the burden on your shoulders. It’s also a great way to develop others and free yourself up for more strategic work.

The benefits of delegating authority

Sharing responsibility for accomplishing tasks has many positive outcomes for teams and organizations. 

Delegating contributes to an organizational culture of trust and empowerment. In high-trust organizations , managers focus on the whole person , encouraging their employees to grow professionally and personally. 

They give employees autonomy in how they craft their jobs, manage their time, and accomplish their tasks.

Research by Paul J Zak demonstrates that employees who work in high-trust organizations have improved:

• Job satisfaction
• Performance

On an individual level, you as the leader, will also benefit from improving your comfort with delegating. 

You will find that you have more time on your calendar and increased opportunities for strategic work. You will also have greater visibility and lower stress.

The importance of delegating

At the most fundamental level, delegation is assigning work to others. Delegation frequently occurs when you assign work that you could do yourself to someone else on your team. 

When you delegate, you demonstrate trust by transferring primary ownership of the work to someone else. 

This makes delegation a collaborative activity . You, as the leader, remain involved in overseeing the quality and timeliness of the work.

Organizations thrive when leaders successfully delegate. When delegation occurs, tasks and authority are shared across individuals and teams.

Research shows that delegation is highly linked to : 

• Organizational effectiveness
• Stress reduction  
• Increased motivation

Delegation also grows and develops your employees by giving them learning pathways to hone existing and new skills. 

You expand the strengths and capacities of your team by appropriately delegating.

Delegation is also part of each person’s leadership journey. Shifting an employee’s focus from an individual contributor to a manager through delegation frees up more time for them to do higher-level work. This experience will ladder into helping them advance in their career .

Why is it so difficult for some people to delegate work?

There are many reasons why even good leaders find delegating difficult. As you read the list below of reasons for not delegating, note which ones apply to you.

• Time . Lack of time is the most commonly used reason for not delegating. It represents the belief that delegating to someone else takes more time than doing the work themselves. Especially when deadlines are tight, you might be more likely to roll up your sleeves and do the work yourself.
• Identity . Over the years, you have invested in your area of expertise and your technical skillset. New managers often associate their identity and sense of worth at the office with being productive individual contributors.
• Emotional attachment . Some people are simply too emotionally invested in the work to assign it to someone else. For example, you already have a vision in your mind of the end product, and you do not want someone else taking it in a different direction.
• Guilt . You may feel guilty when assigning work to busy colleagues, especially when you do not have positional authority over them. Guilt is powerful — no one wants to feel like they are dumping work on already busy coworkers.
• Trust . There may be a person (or a couple of people) on your team who you don’t trust to execute tasks. Maybe they don’t yet have the needed skill level or have not performed to your expectations in the past. You might not even be aware that you don’t trust your team . The bottom line, especially for important projects, is that many people trust themselves to do excellent work more than they trust others.
• Fear of failure . Fear of failure is a psychological driver for many decisions in the workplace. You may feel that the best way to avoid the possibility of failure is to do the work yourself.
• Authority . You may avoid delegating because you are uncomfortable using your positional authority . It can feel daunting to let go of decision-making authority. This is especially common when someone is newly promoted and now oversees people who used to be their peers. 
• Rewards . Those in middle management often report being evaluated and rewarded more for their work contributions than their management skills . When your manager does not support or acknowledge your efforts to delegate, it can be harder to prioritize.

How to delegate tasks (and how not to)

Let’s take a look at six effective delegation practices and six practices you should avoid:

Effective delegation practices

• DO clearly communicate who is being given which tasks and why Use one-on-ones and team meetings to clarify individual and team goals and the distribution of work across team members. Try to make the best match between assignments and individuals to enhance engagement. Provide all the information and instructions the person needs for the assignment. Clearly establish what the completion criteria are so that it’s clear when the task is complete and successful.
• DO empower and support them along the way. Let your team members know that you are available and welcome questions and clarifications. Provide constructive feedback, guidance, and course correction in a respectful manner.
• DO flex to what the staff member needs. Each person is at a different stage in their professional development and will require something different from you.
• DO hold people accountable. Delegating means that you have transferred authority for the task to someone else. But, as a leader, you still have to hold them accountable. Sometimes leaders can become too “hands-off” and get too out of touch with their staff’s work.
• DO give yourself an immediate reward. The easiest reward is time. For example, if you delegate a weekly meeting to someone else, don’t let another meeting take up that hour. Block that time on your calendar to work on a project that is important to you or will provide you with an opportunity to shine.

Delegation practices to avoid

• DON’T micromanage. Give your team members the time and space to do the work and avoid checking in too frequently or micromanaging. If you co-create meeting schedules and due dates at the outset, you won’t need to micromanage the process.
• DON’T take work back after you’ve delegated it. Even if things are not going well, stick with the person and dial up your level of support.
• DON’T fixate on the negative. Allow for hiccups and small failures. Keep the vibe positive, and ensure that you don’t squash enthusiasm.
• DON’T be closed to new ideas or new ways of doing the work. Delegating means transferring ownership of the work to another person. Their end product will be different from what you would have done. Embrace the diversity of thought and allow for their creative expression to shine.
• DON’T present others’ work as your own or without proper attribution. Be transparent about who is doing the work and give them credit by name in meetings and written communications.
• DON’T give up on yourself. Becoming an expert at delegating is a journey of fits and starts. Even with 20 years of leadership experience, delegation challenges can still arise.

When to delegate responsibility

Many people experience burnout trying to “do it all.” That’s why we have identified the barriers holding you back from effective delegating. Now you can begin to diminish them by practicing. 

To get started, consider these three times when delegation is a good idea:

You have grown into a role with additional, highly challenging responsibilities: Identify a task you have done so many times that it no longer provides a new or unique intellectual challenge for you. What feels redundant for you might be a growth opportunity for someone else on your team.

You are overrun by meetings: Open your calendar and look at your weekly standing meetings. Which meetings do you attend that one or more of your direct reports also attend? Ask yourself whether they could staff that meeting without you, freeing up an hour of your time every week.

There’s an opportunity to support a staff member’s growth: Review your to-do list for items that you are doing that fall under the job description of one of your staff members. You may be doing something – or many things – that should be done as part of someone else’s job.

9 tips for effective delegating

When practicing the art of delegating, you will invoke a number of your strengths and competencies. Here are 9 tips to help you leverage these skills and effectively delegate authority.

1. Ensure you are aligned

When delegating tasks, it is important to be clear and lean on your communication skills. Be sure to clarify roles, expectations, and timelines.

2. Communicate the overall objective

Tying individual tasks to larger organizational goals strengthens team members’ sense of purpose and motivation. This will help you get the desired outcome within a designated timeline. And without this guidance, it can be challenging for individuals to understand why they’re working on a specific project or task.

3. Empower each individual

We define empowerment as authority or power being transferred to someone to do something. Every time you delegate is an opportunity to start empowering others. And when you designate each task, you can further empower each individual by asking for their feedback and expertise along the way.

4. Be cognizant of bandwidth

Before adding another task to someone’s plate or asking them to drastically shift priorities, consider their bandwidth or talk to their manager. If they are already overwhelmed, they may not be the right individual to delegate to. Or they may need additional time or help to reprioritize their tasks. Also, be sure to leave enough time for the work to be done and for you to review it.

5. Establish feedback loops upfront

By outlining the milestones for check-in as you delegate the task, you further clarify your expectations upfront. This also provides extra structure without micromanaging the task. Once these posts are in place, however, give your team space to work between each one. If you’re doing 10%, 50%, and 90% check-ins, for instance, resist the urge to ping them and add extra check-ins along the way unless your team requests it.

6. Lean into your coaching skills

You can develop your peer and leadership coaching skills through delegation. You use conversations to encourage high performance, guide your team, and enable their career growth.

7. Understand the nuances of relationship building

The delegation process inherently involves relationships with others. Through the process of delegation, you collaborate, experience mutuality, and build good work relationships . By recognizing the need for leadership skills such as empathy, trust, and patience, you can build stronger working relationships before, during, and after each delegation process.

8. Share the end result at the beginning

If you already know how you want the deliverable to be formatted and the goal it is achieving, let your delegate know before they begin. Even high-performing individuals need clarity. Otherwise, you may not get the desired results and risk diffusing your team’s confidence in the process.

9. Know who you are delegating to

This might seem obvious, but understanding your team’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and communication styles can help when delegating. You may have an analyst with excellent data organizational skills and another who excels at data visualization. Given these strengths, you would likely delegate different tasks to each individual.

How to overcome common challenges of delegating

If you don’t often do it, delegating can feel like a struggle. 

That’s because delegating is hard work for a variety of reasons. Some people get overwhelmed and can’t truly give up the task. 

They want to do everything on their own to ensure it meets their standard.

However, businesses can’t scale this way, and it isn’t realistic to think you can do everything. Most would agree with that statement, so why is it hard to delegate? 

There are plenty of obstacles that can make delegating a challenging process. These include errors in the final product, overwhelming the employee, and struggling with the time investment.

Some other factors contribute to delegation failings as well. Harvard Business Review attributes a lack of critical thinking, initiative, quality, and speed to the four main reasons delegation could fail . 

Let’s look at some of the main challenges you may have to overcome when delegating.

If the task doesn’t get done correctly

The most frustrating experience about delegation is when you do everything right, but the project you delegate doesn’t meet the standard you need. 

This is one of the biggest fears associated with delegating.

To counteract this challenge, take the time to give proper, thorough instructions. Provide your employee with time to ask questions and answer thoroughly. 

Give plenty of examples and tips that the employee can use while they are completing the task. 

Be sure not to rush through this step. 

Providing thorough instructions is critical to ensure that the foundation for a successful project is set in place, and it reduces the risk that the task is not done correctly.

The employee gets overwhelmed

Not everyone knows what they’re signing up for when they accept a new task. 

It is essential to prepare the employee you’re delegating to before beginning the task. This will help them adjust their expectations and plan accordingly to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Check-in periodically and ask if the employee needs any additional help. This is especially true if this is the first time they’re working on this kind of project. This will help counteract the threat of overwhelming them.

By regularly following up, you can instill confidence in them to complete the task to your specifications.

It takes too long to delegate

Sometimes, it might feel better to tackle specific tasks by yourself. 

In those instances, you should take a step back and look at the big picture. Weigh the time it would take you to do it, and the time it would take you to explain the instructions to an employee.

As mentioned above, the instructional component of delegating is critical. You need to be thorough and take the time to explain what you’re seeking. 

However, giving clear instructions can be time-consuming, especially if you need to educate or teach someone how to do something. 

That’s why it’s critical to weigh the time costs associated with the delegation before going for it.

Final thoughts on delegating authority

You will probably have setbacks in delegating. At these times, keep in mind the higher-level purpose behind your commitment to delegating tasks. 

Remind yourself what career goals you are accomplishing by knowing how to delegate more and letting go of your past work. Your skills are better used as a leader than as an individual contributor.

You can also seek feedback from team members, managers, and coworkers on improving your delegation skills. They may be able to see opportunities for you to be more effective with your delegation.

Finally, try to avoid the cognitive trap of believing it will take less time to do the work yourself. Measure the time saved through delegation in the long term, not the short term.

Lead with confidence and authenticity

Develop your leadership and strategic management skills with the help of an expert Coach.

Paula Thompson, Ed.D

BetterUp Fellow Coach

Delegation for the win! 6 steps to empower and get more done

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People Management

How to delegate tasks effectively at work: 10 tips for high-efficiency managers.

Senior Content Marketing Manager

February 29, 2024

One of the most important aspects of managing a project is delegating work. While you may be a superstar, the fact is, you simply can’t do all of the heavy lifting yourself. You need team members to take on tasks so you can focus on other priorities .

Plus, delegating work enables your coworkers to get involved and play to their strengths.

Whether you lead a small team or oversee multiple projects , handing off assignments to other team members helps you meet your goals and makes the process smoother. But figuring out how to delegate work is sometimes easier said than done—especially if you’re new to management.

Here, we’ll dive deeper into delegation, offer guidance on delegating tasks, and highlight the numerous benefits of handing off work to other team members. Then, we’ll offer tips on how to delegate work so you can be a more effective manager. 🤩

What Is Delegation? 

When to delegate tasks, benefits of delegating work responsibilities , challenges of task delegation, 1. decide what to delegate, 2. create a framework for clear communication, 3. know your team’s strengths, 4. create priorities, 5. offer context and background, 6. provide support where it’s needed, 7. prioritize results over the process, 8. focus on autonomy but check-in , 9. celebrate wins, 10. review work and use feedback to inform your process.

Delegation is the process of reassigning specific tasks to other people on your team. It’s done so that team leads and managers are able to focus their efforts elsewhere while having another team member handle tasks you don’t have time for. Delegation also comes into play when a task or activity is better suited to the skillset of someone on the team.

Delegation is a critical component of team management , but it’s also intimidating, particularly for new managers. 

For some managers, letting go is hard. This is especially true if you’re a manager who likes having control and being a contributor to every task.

For other managers, figuring out the right tasks to delegate is challenging. Other times, task management and organization can be chaotic, making it hard to delegate even if you want to.

This management activity also requires strong leadership skills and delegation skills. To do it effectively, you need to communicate clearly, be organized, and offer support. You also need to be able to identify when you should do the work yourself and when you should delegate tasks. 🛠️

Knowing the right tasks to delegate isn’t an exact science; it’s more of an art. There isn’t a specific scenario where all tasks have to be delegated. It comes down to your business needs, the bandwidth of your team, and desired outcomes. 

However, there are some guidelines you can use to decide which tasks you should hand off in your delegation process. Start by asking yourself the following questions to determine if you should delegate the work:

• Is this task time-consuming ? If you have a lot of tasks on your plate that are taking up a significant portion of your time and attention that could be better spent elsewhere, it may be time to delegate responsibility to someone else who has enough time to take it on
• Is the work recurring? Repeating tasks are often handed off to other team members. This is an easy way to delegate without constantly having to spend time training and handing off new work
• Is someone on the team better equipped to handle this work? If you don’t have the skill set to complete the activity or someone on the team has a deeper knowledge of the topic, consider delegating the work to them
• Does this task allow a team member to grow and build skills? Good leaders want their teams to grow and learn with the company. Identifying delegated tasks that can build on existing skills and provide new knowledge helps meet this goal
• Do I have the capacity to effectively train the employee, review their work, and provide support during the delegation process? Delegating tasks isn’t about handing something off and never dealing with it again. You need to play an active role in offering support, guidance, and reviewing the desired results. Make sure you have enough time for this

Deciding how to delegate tasks and which ones are good candidates is a process. Besides asking yourself these questions, consider who you would delegate the work to. Take into account how full their to-do list is, how they’d feel about doing these tasks, and whether or not you think they are likely to succeed. 💪

A good project manager knows how valuable it is to delegate effectively. It allows you to focus your efforts elsewhere, and delegation skills help build your team so everyone performs at their best and at your desired outcome. ✨

Here are some of the main benefits of delegation:

• It’s empowering : Delegation allows team members to take a hands-on approach. By being actively engaged, learning new competencies, and playing a role in important projects, team members will feel more closely connected to the company and like they make a difference with their work
• It reduces burnout: When you delegate tasks effectively, you spread workloads. That way, each team member will be busy but not overwhelmed or burnt out. A visual into each team member’s workload leads to an increased focus on team well-being and a happy company culture

• It promotes professional development and innovation: By allowing your team to work on tasks on their own, you give them a creative license to come up with innovative solutions and new approaches
• It builds trust and communication: Delegation requires people to communicate effectively. It also supports empowerment since managers trust team members to take on work without micro-managing the process
• It can save time and help you reach new milestones : By divvying up work effectively, it will take less time to complete a project and hit your goals 
• It makes budgeting more effective: Breaking down projects into bite-sized tasks for each team member makes budgeting easier since you have a clear road map of all resources and individuals involved

Successfully delegating tasks is a critical skill for any manager, but it’s challenging. Here are some common obstacles that managers may encounter in the delegation process:

• Lack of trust: Some managers find it difficult to trust others to complete tasks to their standards, leading to reluctance in handing over responsibilities
• Fear of losing control: Delegating means letting go of some level of control over how tasks are executed, which can be uncomfortable for managers used to overseeing every detail
• Insufficient training: Team members might lack the necessary skills or knowledge to take over certain tasks, requiring time and resources for training
• Difficulty in assigning the right tasks to the right people: Matching tasks with the appropriate team member based on their skills, interests, and workload can be complex
• Resistance from team members: Not all employees are eager to take on additional responsibilities, especially if they feel overworked or if the task seems out of their expertise area
• Ineffective communication: Misunderstandings about task expectations, deadlines, or objectives can lead to poor outcomes in the delegation process
• Time constraints: Proper delegation requires time for training, monitoring, and feedback, which can be challenging in fast-paced environments

10 Tips on How to Delegate Tasks Effectively 

Now that you know what makes up delegated work when to implement it, and the benefits of picking the right person, it’s time to think about how you will put it into practice. Whether it’s your first time delegating or looking for ways to build your skills, here are 10 helpful tips for effective delegation. 🌻

First, you need to figure out what work you want to hand off. As an entrepreneur, you may delegate just a few tasks to an assistant or freelancer. You might want to delegate dozens of tasks to different departments as a project manager or team lead. 

However you choose to delegate, it’s important to think about precisely what you want to transition to other team members.

In general, the following types of work are great candidates for delegation:

• Recurring tasks
• Work that matches a team member’s expertise or interests
• Work that’s related to a person’s goals

As a team lead, you know how vital communication is. Delegation is no different. You need to lay out a clear framework and expectations for communication .

Use ClickUp’s Delegation of Authority Matrix template to streamline decision-making in your team. Nine custom fields let you assign authority, while three views enable you to create an information database so everyone knows who’s in charge of what.

Built-in tracking tools and project dependency warnings inform you of potential risks and milestone successes.

When you delegate work, you want to be sure that the person you’re assigning it to has what they need to succeed. That means knowing their skills and providing opportunities for them to learn relevant new skills. 

The best way to accomplish this is to have regular one-on-one meetings . Ask the employee what their career goals are, what they enjoy working on, and if they want to try anything outside the normal scope of work. 

Consider their strengths so you can cultivate high-performance teams to match your unique workflow. It’s a lot easier to work from a single view to see strengths and weaknesses play out across your team.

Do they have management skills they can leverage to manage one or two other people on the team? Do they have technical skills that can help your development team?

This is why the ClickUp Skills Mapping Template is so handy for logging detailed information about your team, external members or freelancers, and other assets that could alter your ideal workflow. Whatever their strengths, be sure to consider them alongside the employee’s interests when delegating work. 🏋️

Bonus: Skills Matrix Templates !

Effective leaders know how to prioritize work and how important it is to distinguish which tasks need to be completed first to avoid delaying a project. For delegating tasks, it’s critical to communicate clearly which items must be addressed first.

This way, the team member knows where to start and has a road map for what comes next. 

This step is so important; it’s one of the main reasons teams use ClickUp’s Priority Matrix template . Start by listing all tasks that need to be completed. Assess how important each one is and which ones are urgent.

Plug them into the priority matrix to visually organize what has priority. Team members can use this as a reference for what work they need to focus on first, and they can quickly see what’s coming next.

Your work is more successful when you understand its role in meeting the company’s goals. The same goes for team members to whom you delegate tasks. 

Help them understand how the task or project they are working on fits into the big picture and the desired outcome you want. If they understand how they contribute to the team and feel like an important piece of the puzzle, they’ll be more likely to want to succeed.

Context also helps your team members fully understand the purpose of the task. While you might be a pro at these tasks, they are new to your co-workers. Offer to walk them through the task or create a video showing how you do it.

That way, you can feel confident handing off the tasks and knowing your team member has the information they need to complete the work successfully.

It also helps to provide information on the organizational structure of the project. A tool like the RACI matrices from ClickUp can give the team member insight into project roles, deliverables, and who to turn to if any issues arise. 📝

If you want to cultivate high-performing teams, you need a structure to help them tackle tasks (and address the time-consuming tasks) so both you and your team know exactly what’s expected. Delegating effectively helps everyone know the task at hand.

As a project manager or team leader, you should support your team throughout the project, not just at the beginning when you’re providing context. This can mean offering training if there are skills they need to develop to succeed.

It can also mean providing support regarding resources—like task management software —financial backing or connecting them to experts who can support their work.

Just because the team member completes the task differently from how you would do it doesn’t mean they didn’t do a good job. Please focus on the result rather than how they got there. We learn and work differently, so be open-minded when reviewing each delegated task.

Good work and results are what should matter. 🏆

Trusting the people you work with to do their jobs and get things done on time is wonderful. But that doesn’t mean you should take a fully hands-off approach. Give your team members space and time to finish the work, but schedule regular check-ins. 

Discuss how often you want to check in with members of your team. It should balance not micromanaging but still doing regular reviews. 

Many managers choose to meet fortnightly or monthly. Others working on projects with a longer timeline choose to check in quarterly. During these meetings, provide support if they have questions or concerns and offer guidance for seeing the work to completion. 

Remember, at the end of the day, you’re responsible for the project’s success. After it’s completed, plan a review to review what worked well and what can be improved. You can implement these changes into your workflow management processes for the next project.

As human beings, we like working in a positive environment and seeing our work appreciated and recognized. Celebrate milestones and small wins whenever possible. This boosts morale, creates a fun environment to work in, and offers incentives to do a good job. 🥳

Successful delegation isn’t just about assigning tasks and seeing them to completion. A key component of delegating is reviewing the process to see what worked and what can be improved. Ask your team members for constructive feedback on the process.

Identify areas where you both succeeded and consider if there is any room for improvement.

Harness the Power of Delegation With ClickUp

Mastering the art of delegation is about knowing what tasks to delegate, who to assign them to, and how to do it effectively. With these 10 tips, you’re well on your way to implementing successful delegation at all levels of your organization.

Try ClickUp today to handle all your project management processes. From organizing and assigning tasks to creating a priority matrix and using tracking tools to monitor progress, you’ll find what you need to be an effective leader. 👩🏽‍💼

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Maximizing Productivity: Game-Changing Strategies for Effective Task Delegation

This blog post explores essential strategies for successful task delegation and demonstrates how Insightful's advanced features can bolster this process, enhancing productivity and efficiency across your team.

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Every thriving organization recognizes that effective task delegation is the heart of successful project management. Without it, productivity can stall, deadlines may be missed, and team morale can plummet. 

Yet, effective delegation is more of an art than a simple managerial task. It requires astute judgment, trust-building, and an understanding of each team member's skills and capabilities. 

Coupling these tactics with employee management tools can transform your delegation process into a strategic powerhouse, promoting efficiency, job satisfaction, and overall team success. 

Effectively Monitor Employee Productivity with Insightful

The art and science of effective task delegation.

Masterful task delegation pivots on three critical pillars: Clarity, Empowerment, and Accountability.

Clarity in task delegation means detailing what needs to be done, when, and what the expected outcomes are. It's about leaving no room for confusion, minimizing the chances of errors and miscommunication.

Let's consider a marketing team preparing for an upcoming product launch. The team leader needs to delegate tasks to her team members.

She outlines all the necessary tasks in a shared project management tool, breaking down each task into detailed subtasks. For instance, the task of 'Preparing press release' is broken down into researching product features, writing the initial draft, getting approvals, and finalizing the document.

Each team member knows exactly what their responsibilities are, the deadlines, and the expected results. There is no confusion about who does what and by when, leading to a well-coordinated effort towards the product launch.

If the marketing team leader in the example didn't clearly outline the tasks and their details for the product launch, confusion would likely ensue. Team members could end up working on the same tasks unknowingly or neglecting crucial tasks due to unclear instructions. This miscommunication could delay the product launch, harm team morale, and potentially impact the product's success in the market.

Empowerment

Empowerment involves giving your team members the authority they need to complete their tasks independently. This might mean providing access to necessary resources, decision-making authority, or simply a morale boost affirming your trust in their capabilities.

In an IT company, the project manager assigns the task of developing a new feature for a software application to a junior developer.

The project manager not only outlines the task requirements but also ensures the developer has the necessary tools and resources to accomplish the task. He encourages her to make decisions regarding the development process while reassuring her that he trusts her judgment and abilities.

The developer feels motivated and empowered. Having the necessary resources and decision-making authority, she works diligently and creatively, developing an efficient and well-received software feature.

If the project manager didn't provide the junior developer with the necessary resources, tools, or decision-making authority, the task's execution could be severely hampered. The developer may end up waiting for approvals or be unsure about the direction to take, which could slow down development, reduce the feature's quality, and stifle innovation.

Accountability

Accountability ensures that once a task is delegated, the assignee is responsible for its completion. By establishing measurable objectives and monitoring progress, you can ensure accountability is upheld.

For example, at a financial services firm, a Senior Analyst delegates the task of preparing a quarterly financial report to her assistant.

She clearly communicates the expectations and deadlines to her assistant and introduces a system of regular check-ins and progress reports to keep track of the task's progress. Her assistant knows that he is solely responsible for completing the task and will be accountable for the results.

With regular check-ins and clear expectations, he delivers a comprehensive financial report on time. Consistent monitoring ensures that he remains focused on the task, understanding that he is accountable for the quality of the work and the timely completion. The accountability enforced through this process upholds a high standard of work and encourages him to take ownership of his work.

If the Senior Analyst didn't establish regular check-ins, clear expectations, and accountability for the quarterly financial report, the assistant might procrastinate or not give the task the attention it requires. The report might end up being incomplete, incorrect, or late, which could affect the firm's financial planning and decision-making.

Overall, the absence of clarity, empowerment, and accountability can lead to confusion, delays, and suboptimal results. The organization's overall performance could suffer, and over time, this could impact customer satisfaction, revenue, and the company's reputation. It's therefore crucial for leaders to ensure these pillars are firmly established when delegating tasks.

Amplifying Delegation Success with Insightful

Insightful's productivity software is a formidable ally in your delegation strategy. With its suite of features, managers can effortlessly monitor progress and productivity, ensuring tasks are on track to meet predefined objectives. Here’s how:

Real-Time Activity Monitoring: If you’ve ever wondered how do companies track employee internet usage ? - Insightful is the answer. Keep a real-time tab on your team's application usage, thus ensuring tasks are being executed within the prescribed digital resources. Monitor active and idle times, lending you a clearer picture of individual and team work rhythms which is crucial for fair and effective task delegation.

Instant Screenshot Capture: Obtain visual proof of work being done, offering a transparent understanding of how delegated tasks are being handled.

Productivity Trends Analysis: Review productivity patterns over time to identify areas requiring improvement, crucial for effective delegation and team management.

Alerts and Notifications: Receive instant alerts for any unusual or unproductive behavior, ensuring tasks are on track and deadlines are met.

Employee Productivity Tracking: Gauge the productivity of individual team members, helping identify areas that may need extra training or more appropriate task delegation. Compare productivity based on your team's work location, helping you to understand how task delegation works best for your team, whether they're in the office or working remotely.

Privacy and Security Compliance: Insightful's commitment to privacy and security ensures that all data is treated with utmost care. With features such as role-based access control and strict data encryption, your team's information remains confidential and secure. Moreover, as a company, we are fully committed to adhering to all relevant employee monitoring and workplace privacy laws.

Insightful in Action

Let's step into the shoes of a manager at a burgeoning graphic design agency. You lead a team of talented remote designers and notice that some projects are lagging behind schedule. By leveraging Insightful's robust features, you pinpoint that specific tasks are being assigned during team members' least productive hours.

With this revelation, you adjust your delegation strategy, reassigning these tasks during peak productivity periods. The result? A significant improvement in project completion rates and a happier, more balanced team. This real-world example demonstrates how Insightful can turn challenges into opportunities, promoting a culture of continuous improvement.

Remember, successful task delegation isn't about offloading your responsibilities. It's about empowering your team members, capitalizing on their strengths, and fostering a sense of ownership. With Insightful, you're equipped to do all this and more, setting your team on a surefire path to success.

Insightful helps teams improve productivity!

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Enhancing Your Efficiency: How to Delegate Tasks Effectively

• The Speaker Lab
• March 5, 2024

Table of Contents

Ever felt like you’re juggling too many balls and that, at any moment, they could all come crashing down? That’s what it feels like when you have a pile of tasks on your desk with not enough time to complete them. But here’s the secret sauce: learning how to delegate tasks . It’s more than just offloading work—it’s about empowering others, developing trust, and driving team success.

Think of delegation as a magic wand that can transform chaos into order. When done right, delegating is a dance between leadership and teamwork that leads to increased productivity and higher revenue generation.

Are you hooked? This article offers useful tips on how to delegate effectively without falling into the trap of micromanagement. You’ll learn why recognizing your team members’ strengths is crucial when assigning tasks. But, we won’t stop there; we’re also going to discuss dealing with feelings of guilt associated with delegation.

Understanding the Importance of Delegating Tasks

If you’re looking to boost productivity and foster trust within your team, delegation is key. But why is delegating tasks so crucial in a management role?

Well, according to Gallup , CEOs who excel at delegating generate 33% higher revenue. By distributing work among team members, managers free themselves up to focus on strategic planning while encouraging employees to step up. By entrusting operational responsibilities to their staff, managers foster an environment where workers can showcase their strengths and feel valued for their contributions—thus building trust.

The Power of Delegated Work

Beyond boosting revenue and trust among team members, effective delegation also

• Gives everyone more breathing room,
• Makes sure no single person is overworked,
• Promotes healthy time management skills.

Learning how to delegate effectively, therefore, isn’t just about getting things off your plate—it’s also about creating a balanced workload that helps avoid burnout across the board.

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Developing Effective Delegation Skills

The ability to delegate tasks effectively is a critical management skill. But, like many first-time managers, you might shy away from delegating work, thinking it would take longer to explain the task than do it yourself. Let’s bust that myth.

Desired Outcome and Providing Context

When delegating, clearly define your desired outcome. Be specific about what good work looks like and provide context for the delegated task. This helps your team member understand their role in achieving the big picture goal and builds trust through transparency.

The Role of Feedback in Delegation

Giving feedback on delegated work is equally important as providing clear instructions initially. Regular performance reviews are crucial not just for correcting mistakes but also for acknowledging achievements, which motivates employees’ strengths.

Steps to Delegate Tasks Effectively

If you’re looking for a way to enhance your team’s productivity, delegating tasks effectively is the key. Delegation not only lightens your workload but also empowers your team members by building trust and providing them with professional development opportunities.

Time Spent on Delegating

First off, don’t rush delegation. The time spent in assigning work should be seen as an investment towards achieving the desired outcome more efficiently. Think about it like teaching a basketball player; after they’ve mastered their shot, you don’t need to keep demonstrating how to do it.

Monitoring Progress and Answering Questions

The next step involves monitoring progress without turning into a micromanager. You want people to feel trusted while completing delegated tasks so avoid hovering over their shoulder every second. Instead, check-in periodically and let them know that you are available if they have any questions or need help.

This approach encourages self-reliance while ensuring quality performance reviews at the end of each project cycle.

Identifying the Right Tasks to Delegate

Delegating effectively is more than just offloading work from your to-do list. It’s about knowing which tasks are right for delegation and how they align with your team member’s strengths.

You need to identify specific, time-consuming tasks that don’t necessarily require your expertise but can be done by someone else proficiently. For instance, administrative duties or routine reports might fall into this category. Handing these over will free up valuable time for you while also giving others an opportunity for professional development.

Tasks where employees’ strengths lie are ideal candidates too. If one of your first-time managers excels in project management, why not delegate a significant project their way? This not only builds trust but lets them exercise and enhance their skills.

So remember, effective delegation starts with identifying the right task based on complexity, relevance, and the employee’s capability to tackle it successfully. By investing in your team members’ strengths, you are investing in future leaders.

Building Trust and Empowering Team Members

Creating an environment of appreciation and inclusivity encourages trust, thereby promoting team cohesion. How do you foster trust within your team? And what role does delegation play?

The Role of Delegation in Professional Development

Handing over responsibilities is more than just a time management tool; it also builds trust. By delegating tasks according to each team member’s strengths, managers can show they value their employees’ unique skills and talents. This not only helps boost morale but also promotes professional growth by providing opportunities for them to develop new abilities.

To foster this type of environment, leaders must be ready to answer questions about delegated tasks and able to communicate clearly without micromanaging. Striking this balance lets people know you have faith in their capabilities.

Remember: teams thrive where there is mutual respect between all members, regardless of rank or role.

Overcoming Challenges in Delegating Tasks

Delegating assignments proficiently is a craft, and like other skills, it comes with its own variety of difficulties. But remember that delegation is not about dumping your to-do list on others; it’s a powerful tool for professional development.

Overcoming Guilt When Delegating

We often feel guilty when delegating tasks because we worry about burdening our team members with more work. This feeling can be overcome by understanding the role delegation plays in their career growth. When you delegate critical projects or complex tasks, you’re providing them opportunities to hone their skills and gain experience. As they rise up to these challenges, it builds trust within the team.

Training as an Investment

An effective way to ensure desired outcomes from delegated work is through training your employees properly before handing over responsibilities. Yes, initially investing time into explaining what needs doing might seem tedious compared to doing it yourself, but training ultimately equips your staff with necessary tools while boosting confidence and reducing chances of errors—saving precious time down the line.

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FAQs on How to Delegate Tasks

What is the best way to delegate a task.

The top method for delegating tasks involves clear communication, defining expected outcomes, assigning the right person, and providing necessary resources.

What are the 5 principles for effective delegation?

The five pillars of successful delegation include clarity in task assignment, choosing capable personnel, delivering adequate authority with responsibility, maintaining open lines of communication, and ensuring accountability.

What are the 4 types of delegation?

The four forms of delegation are general control (overall objectives defined), direct control (specific methods given), functional (expertise-based), and operational control (daily management).

What do you say when delegating a task?

Say what needs doing clearly. Specify why it’s important. State who should do it. Give them sufficient context to complete it successfully.

Delegating is not a suggestion, it’s a must. As this guide demonstrates, delegating tasks effectively will ensure that you and your team thrive.

By recognizing each team member’s strengths and handing over appropriate work, you build trust while enhancing your employees’ professional development. Remember that providing clear context for every task fosters better understanding and performance.

Avoid micromanaging but keep an eye on progress—there’s a delicate balance between oversight and intrusion. Overcome any guilt when delegating; it’s not burdening others, but empowering them.

In conclusion, remember this: effective delegation is about creating stronger teams who deliver great results together.

• Last Updated: March 22, 2024

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It’s All About Delegation: How To Delegate Tasks Effectively

Leading a team requires a specific set of skills. Brush up on your leadership abilities with these expert tips.

Do you ever feel like there’s too much on your plate? Whether you are a business owner or director or you have people reporting to you, it’s natural to be thinking about every corner of your company’s needs.

But sometimes it’s to the point of overwhelm — and that’s not productive. This is why delegation is a vital skill that every effective manager and leader must master.

We’re here to remind you that your team members are your most valuable resource, each positioned to provide expertise and support in different business areas. So, when entrusting them with tasks, you must know how to delegate to ensure your team yields top results effectively.

In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the importance of delegation in management, the benefits of successful delegation, and the steps to mastering this essential skill. Understanding the art of delegation can unlock your team’s potential and drive exceptional results.

What Is Delegation?

Delegation refers to the act of entrusting tasks, responsibilities, and authority to others. It allows managers and leaders to focus on high-priority tasks and strategic initiatives while empowering team members to contribute to the organization’s success.

Here’s an example of delegation:

Let’s say you are an entrepreneur in the business of water filtration, and you spearhead an amazing idea for a campaign. Right away, it’s clear that this is a big task (not a one-person show!), so you start putting your thoughts into an outline of what needs to be done. This list might include strategizing, sourcing and creating content, scripting video or writing captions for social media posts, pooling together your target demographic, and tracking performance analytics.  As a leader, you know it’s best to create a team for this project. Call it a task force if you will, this group of skilled professionals will carry out each job in this operation so that it comes together in its entirety. What you are doing here is trusting others with your vision. That’s delegating.

Why Is Delegation Crucial For Managers And Leaders?

By delegating tasks, leaders and busy professionals can have someone manage their emails , schedule meetings, and coordinate travel arrangements. Not only does it enable them to manage their workload and free up their time to focus on high-priority tasks and strategic planning, but it fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment amongst team members, preparing them for future leadership roles.

Successful delegation is a win-win situation for everyone, leading to increased efficiency, improved team morale, and enhanced professional growth. Do you feel like this could apply to you in your current leadership role? We’ve broken down key reasons as to why delegation is so crucial in this article . But now, let’s look at how to effectively delegate.

How To Delegate Tasks: 11 Expert Tips For Effective Delegation

Now that we know what delegation is and why it’s so crucial, let’s take a look at how to achieve the results you’re looking for. The best approaches to take are often the ones that are simple: take a step back, look at the basics, set goals, communicate openly, and embrace the concept of delegation.

1. Embrace The Value Of Delegation

Recognize the benefits of delegation, such as increased efficiency , improved team morale, and enhanced professional growth. By entrusting your team members with specific tasks, you can focus on your core responsibilities and achieve a better work-life balance . You’ll probably begin to wonder how you ever functioned without delegating.

2. Set Clear Goals And Priorities

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to set the tone of what’s achievable. Establish specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for delegated tasks, ensuring that your team members understand their objectives and priorities. Clearly communicate the desired outcomes and deadlines, enabling your team to work efficiently and independently.

3. Provide Detailed Instructions And Expectations

Don’t be afraid to offer guidance. Clearly outline task objectives, deadlines, and desired outcomes to set your team up for success. By providing detailed instructions, you minimize the risk of misunderstandings and ensure that your employees’ work aligns with your expectations.

4. Delegate Tasks Based On Individual Strengths

Doesn’t it feel great when someone comes to you with a job or question that fits perfectly with your expertise? You can do that same by matching tasks to your team members’ specific skills, experiences, and prowess to optimize productivity and satisfaction. This enables them to take on responsibilities with confidence, resulting in higher quality work and a more streamlined workflow.

5. Establish Open Lines Of Communication

Encourage ongoing dialogue and provide a supportive environment for your team to ask questions, seek clarification, and offer feedback . Open communication fosters trust and collaboration, leading to a more effective partnership.

6. Invest In Team Member Development And Training

Provide training, resources, and opportunities for professional growth to build your team’s capabilities and confidence. This investment not only strengthens their skill set but also demonstrates your commitment to their success, fostering a positive working relationship.

7. Monitor Progress And Provide Constructive Feedback

Regularly review progress, offer guidance, and provide constructive feedback to ensure delegated tasks stay on track. Ideally, you should address any concerns or roadblocks in the moment and adjust expectations as needed to maintain a healthy and productive working relationship. This way you are fine tuning things along the way — before it’s too late. 

8. Practice Letting Go And Trusting Your Team

Overcome the fear of losing control by empowering your team members and trusting them to deliver results. The more valued they feel, the more spectacularly they’ll perform. Letting go of control is easier said than done, however, so we recommend using an outcome-oriented approach to delegation. Ultimately, focus on the results rather than micromanaging the process in order to foster a sense of ownership and autonomy within your team. 

9. Trust But Verify: Balancing Trust And Oversight

While it is vital that you trust your team members to complete tasks effectively, maintaining a level of oversight is important to ensure accountability and quality control. After all, that is a part of your leadership role. It’s a fine line, but you’ll improve on this one with time and practice.

10. Recognize And Reward Success

Every human needs to feel recognized from time to time. Don’t forget to acknowledge your team’s accomplishments — that’s the key to hosting a productive and motivated team! Celebrate the achievements of team members via email or in meetings to reinforce the value of delegation and promote a culture of excellence.  

11. Continuously Evaluate And Refine Your Delegation Approach

Delegation is a nuanced thing that works differently in each situation, so your approach needs constant fine tuning. Regularly assess your delegation strategy, identify areas for improvement, and make adjustments as needed to optimize effectiveness.

What Are Common Barriers To Effective Delegation?

Although delegation is essential, it comes with some barriers that you may find challenging. Whether you are new to your leadership role and are still adjusting to how managers operate, or you just have never considered why delegation is so important, it can be tough to completely restructure your managerial approach—especially when your team already has a sense of how you operate.

The good news is that this doesn’t mean that mastering the art of delegation is out of reach. Some common barriers people often face when trying to delegate are:

• Fear of losing control
• Struggling to pinpoint delegatable tasks
• Lack of clear guidance
• Reluctance to step away
• Perceived time constraints in training

It’s important to truly understand the common barriers of delegation and how to successfully overcome them, so read more about that process here .

What Are The Benefits Of Successful Delegation?

We’ve covered the barriers to effective delegation, but there’s no need to be discouraged or turned off! After all, there are numerous benefits to successfully delegating tasks. Delegation can benefit not only an individual but an entire organization – and in more ways than you may think:

• Increased efficiency and productivity
• Reduction of burnout and stress among leadership
• Optimal resource allocation and time management
• Improved decision-making and problem-solving
• Greater capacity for innovation and strategic thinking

What Tasks Can I Delegate And To Whom?

The best types of tasks to delegate are tasks that are routine, time-consuming, or outside your primary expertise are prime candidates for delegation. This allows you to focus on core responsibilities that necessitate your unique skill set. Some important tasks to keep for yourself are any high-stakes, confidential, or high-value tasks. 

It’s crucial to match tasks with individuals based on their strengths, experience, and capacity. Delegate tasks to team members who possess the required skills and knowledge, ensuring that they have the resources and guidance needed to successfully complete the task. Proper delegation not only boosts productivity but also fosters growth and trust within the team.

For more detail, we’ve outlined in detail here which tasks you should delegate, which you should keep, and to whom you should delegate.

Master The Art Of Delegation Today!

Mastering the art of delegation is essential for you as a manager and leader, especially if you want to optimize your team’s performance and foster a culture of growth and success. By understanding the importance of delegation, identifying the right tasks and team members, and implementing expert tips, you can unlock your time and your team’s full potential.

Embrace delegation as a powerful tool for success and continue your journey of learning and development with additional resources and training opportunities.

How Persona Can Help You

Want to elevate your delegation strategy? The talent team at Persona can be the catalyst that propels your delegation approach to new heights. Entrusting tasks becomes effortless when you have a team that belongs to the top 0.1% in terms of ability and reliability.

We take pride in our rigorous selection process, which ensures we collaborate with only the most talented and dedicated individuals. This results in us hiring just 1 person out of every 1000 applications. Our unique assessment design, backed by cognitive science, ensures each individual possesses exemplary writing, communication, and problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, their personalities are meticulously evaluated to guarantee they seamlessly integrate into their roles.

By partnering with Persona, you’ll be equipped with the expertise to delegate tasks effectively , enabling you to channel your efforts into more strategic areas of your business. Our team can assist you with:

• Assessing tasks and determining if they should be delegated
• Creating structured delegation strategies
• Managing routine and repetitive tasks
• Overseeing task completion and ensuring quality
• Communicating with various departments for task coordination
• Monitoring and reporting on task progress and outcomes

Don’t let the intricacies of task delegation deter you from focusing on your primary objectives. Engage with Persona’s talent team to optimize your delegation strategy and set the stage for unparalleled success. To understand how our talent can revolutionize your approach to task delegation, reach out to us today .

Connecting top 0.1% remote talent with leading professionals and companies across all industries. We helps businesses of all sizes find the perfect fit and scale their team, faster.

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How to Decide Which Tasks to Delegate

• Jenny Blake

This time, you’re really going to do it.

Many of us know the vague benefits and aim of delegation — to build teams who can share the workload so that you do the highest expression work that only you can do. But in practice, we hoard tasks and become a bottleneck. Conduct an audit using the six T’s to determine what tasks make the most sense to offload: if a task is tiny, tedious, time-consuming, teachable, time-sensitive, or you’re just terrible at it, delegate it.  Check in with yourself frequently (even daily) to examine what’s on your plate and ask: What can you and only you do? How can you delegate the rest? For two weeks, keep a list of all the things you’re doing that might fit one of the six T’s, and notice how much time you can free up for your most important priorities.

Ping! Something needs your attention. Is it an email? A tweet? A text? A reminder on your phone? A calendar invite? Ping! Another one. Ping! There’s that sound again. Or maybe it’s a visual cue, an ever-ascending ticker count on your app icons or inbox.

• JB Jenny Blake is a career and business strategist and speaker who helps people build sustainable, dynamic careers they love. She is the author of PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One (Portfolio/Penguin Random House). Her latest course is Delegation Ninja: Turn Frantic into Freedom . Learn more at PivotMethod.com/toolkit , and check out her Pivot Podcast .

Partner Center

6 Rules of Effective Delegation of Tasks and Authority

Are you the best guy or gal for the job?

I’m sure you’re qualified. But for the overall outcome, would it be best if you’re the one doing a certain task?

Successful delegation allows for more work to be done better, empowers others, and helps you maintain a healthy work-life balance .

Unsuccessful delegation leads to lots of rework, broken trust, and losses.

The ability to delegate is especially important for project managers, business owners, and other people in leadership positions.

But it’s a great skill to have in general. Trying to do everything by yourself puts you at great risk of burnout .

How do you transfer important tasks to others and be sure you won’t regret it?

photo by @sora-shimazaki on Pexels

When should I delegate tasks?

I’m looking at the delegation issue from a broader perspective of personal and professional development: which tasks to prioritize, which ones to transfer, and which ones to get rid of entirely by improving your processes.

Signs that some tasks need to be removed from your agenda:

• At your current level, the task doesn’t provide a new challenge. Your expertise would be better used elsewhere. But for someone else, it’s a growth opportunity.
• You’re bogged down with minute details and don’t spend enough time working on a strategic, bigger picture.
• If you’re feeling burned out , it most likely means that you have too much on your plate and need to reevaluate and reprioritize.

Related : How setting strong boundaries prevents being overwhelmed .

Delegation vs. Assignment: a matter of consent and capability

Let’s take a moment to consider what delegation is. Contrasting it to related terms will help with adopting a conscious approach and laying out the groundwork for successful delegation under different circumstances.

Delegation means entrusting a task, authorizing another person to do something on your behalf.

In legal terms, both assignment and delegation mean transferring responsibility and accountability.

The key difference is consent . In an assignment, consent isn’t necessary. With delegation, however, the person must explicitly accept the authority and responsibility.

Delegation vs. Burdening

Burdening means giving or picking assignments without regard to the current capacity of time, skills, or resources. Burdening causes distress.

If you feel self-conscious about burdening someone by transferring your tasks to them, use open communication.

Get the other person’s honest estimate on whether they’re capable of doing the task in question and their explicit consent to do it.

Get a concise, actionable e-book

Delegating as a leader.

From a CEO of an international corporation to a parent sharing household chores with a child, effective prioritization and delegation are important for everyone to have.

But delegation is especially crucial for those who manage and lead others.

Let’s review two personas that might be struggling with delegation: a manager and a business owner. Perhaps they don’t describe you, but look through the descriptions and see which situation resonates with you the most.

Managers: delegating tasks to team members

Persona: A professional turned manager . Great at doing something as a professional and were promoted to lead the team. Not used to performing the balancing act of managing other people.

In this scenario, the team was formed without the manager’s direct input.

The manager has to play to the strengths of the team members – ideally, empowering them and making them even stronger.

Related : Can I become an excellent project manager?

Small business owners: delegating work to employees

Persona: An owner of a growing business . In the beginning, when things were slower, they were doing most of the operations, but now that the business has picked the pace, their plate is more than full.

In this scenario, the hiring decisions are fully in the hands of the business owner.

At this point, it’s more of a question of choosing people who have the right skills and the approach that aligns with the business owner’s vision.

It’s a good practice to document your processes – will bring clarity about what can be streamlined and improved and in which areas you can delegate. Documentation will help with the smooth transition of the tasks.

The rest of the article will be geared towards people in managerial roles – or, more generally, those who don’t have the full freedom to define the set of people they deal with and have to make the most out of the current situation.

But many of the points, especially those related to trust and communication, will be relevant to business owners as well.

photo by @shkrabaanthony on Pexels

Challenges and obstacles to delegation

Whatever your role or position is, you might find it hard to delegate due to the following challenges:

• Perfectionism . It either has to be done well or not done at all. Are their skills on par? Will they really do it as well as you?
• Lack of trust . Similar to perfectionism but with distinct suspicion towards others. Fear of being let down.
• No time to spare . There’s no time to explain or wait for someone less experienced to do the task. If it happens regularly, you might’ve fallen into the urgency trap.
• Fuzzy prioritization . You’d love to delegate the mid-level tasks and focus on the most important ones, but there’s an issue: everything feels important.
• Vanity, clinging to authority . Desire to be indispensable. Not wanting to admit that someone might do the task just as well – or even better – than you.
• Feeling self-conscious . Not wanting to burden others. Feeling guilty for pushing tasks onto someone else.
• No recognition . If you’re not busy doing a task, you might not be as recognized and rewarded, even though you successfully exerted your management skills and the work was done well in the end.

Overcoming the obstacles to effective delegation

The challenges described above are mostly stemming from personal perception and mindset. To counter them, try the following:

• Develop an Agile, flexible mindset . It’ll help with embracing failures to learn and grow faster.
• Shift your focus to the big picture and long-term prioritization.
• Establishing solid boundaries will help see and respect others’ boundaries as well. You’ll have a better idea of when and whom to delegate to and won’t feel the urge to micromanage.
• If you need external recognition, analyze why – and if – it really matters, and see how to reach your goals without obvious support.

photo by @shvetsa on Pexels

Rules of effective delegation of authority

Follow a few principles to ensure that the result is up to your expectations and that the overall experience is positive for both you and the person you delegate to.

As you might notice, great communication is the underlying theme in nearly all of those points.

1. Make sure you’re on the same page.

If they don’t ask any clarifying questions about the task, it either means they got everything right away or aren’t even sure what to ask.

Asking: “Do you have any questions?” won’t help them come up with specifics.

To ensure their plan aligns with your intent, I suggest asking questions like:

• What will be your first step?
• What issues do you think you’ll encounter?

2. Set up the system for check-ins and reporting.

You wouldn’t want to micromanage them – it’s annoying, kills the drive for autonomy, and defies the purpose of delegation.

But you need to be aware of the progress and hold them accountable. Instead of nudging them for updates, agree on where you could see the updates on their progress.

It could be done, for example, via regular email summary updates or a Kanban board where you could check the status of the tasks.

3. Establish the completion criteria.

What does “done” mean? What is “well done”?

Define the timelines and other key criteria and constraints that would mean a task is completed successfully.

It’s up to them how to fulfill the gap between the intent and the completed task.

As long as a result is aligned with your intent and meets the completion criteria, be open to new ways of solving tasks.

photo by @ron-lach on Pexels

4. Set up the safe zone for failure.

Once you delegated the task, you would want people to do it autonomously and solve small issues they encounter on their own.

But if people are concerned that they’ll be scolded or even fired for making a wrong move, they’ll shy off taking initiative and will either double-check with you often or avoid certain steps altogether.

Let them know that failure is fine, to a certain extent.

Establish a certain amount of resources (time, funds) they could “gamble” without asking you to see if their ideas work out.

Failure could also occur if the person overestimated themselves when taking the task and got overwhelmed. They might be afraid of losing your trust and respect.

It should be safe to admit issues and request help. The earlier a critical issue is revealed, the better.

5. Give feedback and be available.

When you receive reports or check how the tasks are going, provide feedback.

If things go well, we tend to take it for granted. Highlight the points that you like and point out the things that could be improved. Share your experience, tips and resources.

There should also be a channel of communication where they could expect you to get back to them reasonably fast – like a dedicated Slack channel, or even calling you on the phone.

It should be used sparingly and within the work boundaries , of course. But they should be safe in the knowledge that they could contact you in case of emergency, or if there’s a decision they aren’t authorized to make.

6. Give credit where it’s due.

If their contribution led to the success of the project you’re managing, company revenue increase, or some other kind of positive change – acknowledge it both to them and to the people you report to.

It’s inspiring when your efforts are recognized, so the people you delegated to will be more likely to cooperate with you in the future.

Openly acknowledging others’ achievements is a sign of the strength of character. It won’t diminish you as a leader – it’ll only make people respect you more.

Making the most out of delegation

As you delegate the tasks and responsibilities, consider what you’ll do instead. You might choose to:

• Think about the long-term strategy and take steps to implement it.
• Improve your skills and focus on professional development, and maybe also participate in self-growth challenges for personal development .
• Just have some rest and decompress.

Whatever it is, it has to be a conscious decision. Don’t just let the other tasks expand and take up the time you freed up.

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Self-Assessment • 15 min read

How Well Do You Delegate?

Sharing the workload to get more done.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Delegating work to your team members is a key element of getting things done. So why do so many managers say things like:

"I'll do the best job here, so I'll do it myself."

"They'll resent me asking them to do it."

"It's a boring job, so I'll lead by example and do it myself."

"It'll be quicker if I do it."

These are all common reactions to thinking about delegation. However, when you don't delegate, you risk ending up with too much work to do, not enough time to do it, and lots of unnecessary stress.

On the other hand, when you delegate, you might worry that the job won’t get done properly.

Take this short quiz to explore how well you delegate. Your answers will show you if you need to improve. If you do, we'll direct you to some great resources that will help you.

How Good Is Your Delegation?

For each statement below, click the button in the column that best describes you.

Choose the answers that reflect you as you are, rather than how you think you should be, and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the "wrong direction."

When you've finished, click the "Calculate My Total" button at the bottom of the test.

What and When to Delegate

(Questions 2, 5, 9, 11)

Start by deciding what you can delegate, and when. Then, it's much easier to decide how to delegate, and to whom, and to give them the resources and knowledge they need .

Don't try to delegate work that you should be doing yourself. You might want to ask your strongest team member to prepare a presentation for you. But, chances are, the speech won't connect with your audience if the words and thoughts aren't yours.

Likewise, avoid delegating just to offload tasks that you don't like doing! If you do that, you'll likely find your people become unwilling delegates, and help will be harder to find when you genuinely need it.

If, for example, you need a report completed for your meeting in two hours' time, it may be inefficient to take half an hour to explain to someone else what needs to be done. In that case, doing it yourself will likely save time and stress.

Consider these factors when you decide whether or not to delegate:

Time. Do you have enough time to delegate? You must be able to give sufficient instruction and support to your team member, and you might need to make corrections to their work, too.

Expertise. Is there anyone available with the necessary skills and expertise to complete the job successfully? Often, the best tasks to delegate are those for which your team members have more expertise or information than you do. They may well perform these tasks better and faster than you could.

Appropriacy. It is rarely wise or fair to delegate high-profile or strategic tasks, or those involving confidential or sensitive information. Instead, delegate even more of your lower-level work to make sure you have time to do the best possible job of your critical responsibilities, such as planning or recruitment. For more information on what to delegate, see our article, Successful Delegation .

How to Delegate

(Questions 1, 4, 6, 10)

Whatever your leadership style , you want your team to readily accept assignments from you and to complete work to your expectations. Then you will have more time for your own work. But a positive outcome depends on how you actually hand over the task.

Effective delegation requires crystal clear communication, so that people know precisely what is expected of them. It also requires you to let go, and to trust your team members.

Here are some key ways to improve how you delegate:

Agree expectations. Explain to the person to whom you are delegating exactly what you need them to achieve by when, and why it's important. It's much easier for them to see the "big picture" and to work accordingly when they understand their impact. If possible, connect the task to organizational goals.

Delegate the results, not the process. Most people learn and perform better when you give them autonomy over their work. So, unless the person you're delegating to is inexperienced, allow them to determine how best to complete the task. If you dictate every aspect of the task, they won’t learn so much, and you won’t get the full benefit of their experience.

Establish checkpoints. Don’t ask, "How's it going?" every hour – that would be oppressive. You can manage the risk of mistakes or delays by agreeing in advance when you’ll check in with your team member, and how they should alert you to any problem.

Talk about consequences. What rewards can people expect if they do a great job? What will happen if they don't achieve the results you want? Raise the profiles of team members who perform delegated work well.

Define your role. Explain how much support you'll provide. Encourage team members to make their own recommendations and decisions. However, use your discretion, depending on the task and the individual. Make sure that the person understands the extent to which you expect them to show initiative .

Club members can find out more in our article Avoiding Micromanagement on how to delegate effectively and to get the best results.

You can use proactive delegation as a tool to empower your team . Where possible, include your team members in decisions about the amount and type of work they want to do. Many people are strongly motivated by feelings of purpose and empowerment, and their value to your team will increase accordingly.

There's more on this in our Skillbook " Empowerment and Delegation ." (Note that this is a premium resource.)

Who to Delegate To

(Questions 3, 7, 8, 12)

Delegating work to a person or team takes thought and consideration. If you delegate to the wrong person, you may spend too much time instructing and supporting them. If you delegate too much to one person, you risk incomplete results, and an unhappy, stressed team member.

Remember that most people produce their best work when they're under a little pressure, but that the benefits fall away if that pressure becomes excessive. (See our article on The Inverted-U Theory for more on this.) Look out for signs that someone has taken on more than they can handle , even if they are keen to go the extra mile .

Plan your delegation to make the best use of people's time and skills, so that the job gets done well and on schedule – and so that you don't become a bottleneck. Good delegation is a valuable tool to help you to develop your people further, building a strong sense of autonomy and mastery over their work.

It is also useful to consider how your people may cope with being delegated to. Our article, How to Accept Delegation , explores this in detail. Why not share it with them? (Note this is a premium resource.)

Think about these issues when deciding to whom you should delegate:

Organizational structure. Delegate to people who report to you. If you need to go outside your team, get the permission of the other person's manager, and give that manager credit for the outcome. Open communication is important when delegating across functional areas or through different levels of an organization.

Staff buy-in. Consider how committed you need your staff to be. Gaining their cooperation and support in accepting delegation can be critical to success. They'll feel more involved and more committed to the results. (The Vroom-Yetton-Jago decision model can help you to decide when this is and isn't appropriate.)

Individual versus team. Some tasks can be easily completed by one person. But, when you delegate bigger pieces of work, think about how many people should be involved and what skills you need.

Club members can see our article on Task Allocation for more information on who best to delegate work to.

Our premium resource Skillbook Delegation is a great place to practice your delegation skills and apply them to your work right now. It walks you through deciding what tasks you can delegate, to whom, and how to go about it.

Delegation doesn't come naturally to most of us. Often, we think that it's easier and safer to do everything ourselves. But this approach can lead to more stress and less time to spend on our highest priorities – and our teams remain undeveloped.

Delegation is an essential time-management and team development strategy. You can't do everything, so decide what you must do yourself and what you can delegate to others.

When you learn to delegate effectively, you'll be rewarded with more time and a more empowered and satisfied team. That's a win–win!

This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only. It is just one of many that can help you evaluate your abilities in a wide range of important career skills.

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Comments (2)

David Bevers

great examples of the importance of delegation and staff buying into what is trying to be done

over 1 year

Priscilla Figueroa

Great insight to assessing one's ability to delegate to your team. 😀 👍

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The Art and Science of Delegation: How to Delegate (With Advice from 11 Leaders)

Todoist makes the world’s #1 task manager to organize your work and life. Tell me more

Despite trying (what feels like) every productivity method on Earth — time-blocking , getting things done , improving your focus — many days, your to-do list feels like a Sisyphus’ climb . 😣

On the cusp of burnout, you realize you’re one tiny human and can only do so much. So you think you should delegate — you’ll become more efficient, have more time to rest, and enjoy doing the tasks on your plate. What’s not to like?

You begin and quickly learn outsourcing is no cakewalk. Finding the right people to delegate, training them to excel, and preventing micromanaging is profusely overwhelming. But with the right tools and methods under your belt, it doesn’t have to be.

Here, I’ll share the ins and outs of delegation — why you should consider it, how to outsource effectively, and mistakes you should avoid.

And the advice here isn’t in a silo: I’ve interviewed 11 leaders from across domains who’ve been there, done that to show us all the way.

First things first, what is delegation?

There’s no universal definition of delegation because so much of it is context-dependent.

Simply put, delegation is when you outsource a task on your to-do list to someone else — giving them the full responsibility and authority to complete that job.

Delegation can look like:

• Transferring the execution of a big project at work to a colleague or team member
• Hiring a virtual assistant to complete administrative tasks
• Employing a house cleaner to tidy up your space

As is evident from the examples above, delegation is a vast field. It can be outsourcing something minuscule or a huge undertaking, and it can be in your personal or professional life.

What delegation doesn’t mean

With such a broad definition of delegation, there’s a possibility of misunderstanding what constitutes delegation and what doesn’t fall in its realm.

Here’s a list of what delegation doesn’t mean:

• Delegation isn’t relinquishing your commitment. Even if your coworker is responsible for completing a task, you help them when needed and ensure they have all the necessary resources to excel at their job. Delegation isn’t hand-off and run — be available to answer questions and steer your team in the right direction.
• Delegation isn’t dumping responsibilities on someone else. Be mindful of your team’s capacity while delegating. It isn’t productive to free up your to-do list only to overburden someone else’s.
• Delegation isn’t micromanaging. When you delegate a task, you have to shed control over how it gets completed. Being available to help doesn’t mean you’re constantly peeping on how someone does the job. This doesn’t mean that you’re completely oblivious, but that you provide your team members freedom and breathing room.

Are you ready to delegate? Watch out for these 5 warning signs

When I asked Hailley Griffis , Head of Communications and Content at Buffer , the one piece of advice she’d give her former self, she said: “Delegate earlier than you think you’re ready.”

So don’t wait till you’re on the throne of burnout to begin delegating. Here are five red flags you should watch out for. 🚩

• You haven’t left work on time for a while. Long hours are the easiest telltale signs of hoarding too much work.
• You often feel like you’re the only one that cares. Feeling like no one on your team — except you — cares about a project is one of the early pre-indications that you need to delegate some responsibilities. (It can also build resentment toward your colleagues, which does no one any good.)
• You often find your competent team members saying, “I can help you with that.” If your coworkers often raise their hands to take on more, it might be an indication that they feel underwhelmed by their current role and want to make a more significant impact.
• You’re queasy to take a day off because you know things will fall apart without you. Whether it’s at home or in the workplace, if you feel like you can’t take a day to rest, it’s a danger sign to delegate more. In most cases, things should be able to move smoothly (at least for a day or two) even if you don’t intervene.
• Your to-do list has tasks that you keep procrastinating on. Are certain pesky tasks haunting you because you keep moving them from today to tomorrow? It might be a sign that you need some help in finishing them.

Why should you outsource a task you can do yourself? 5 benefits of delegation

Even after recognizing your behavior in some of the signs above, you might think, “It’s just easier and quicker to do it myself.” In the short-term, that may also be true.

But what about the long-term? Being the only one who knows how to do certain tasks is unsustainable for a team's productivity. Yes, your teammates might make mistakes or take longer initially, but they’ll quickly adapt and learn — freeing you to do the tasks you enjoy and excel at. Delegation is an investment to free up your mental space in the future.

Below are five more benefits of delegation — which prove it can massively improve your (and your team’s) productivity.

Benefit 1: You save time and energy by shortening your to-do list

When you delegate, you still have to do the legwork of guiding your teammates, allocating resources, and providing support. Still, the work is significantly trimmed from when you did everything yourself.

Let’s say you’re pondering whether you should outsource maintaining your lawn to a professional gardener. You think you can make time for trimmings and repotting your plants over the evenings. But spending your non-work time gardening takes away from the time you could’ve spent resting, playing with your kids, or indulging in a hobby. You’re always making significant trade-offs if you try doing everything yourself.

And you might even think you’re doing just fine managing everything. But it can be hard to see how much you’re nibbling on little tasks — that you can easily outsource — when you’re in the thick of your to-do list. Hear it from Elise Darma , a Social Media Educator for Small Businesses:

“I’ve burned out twice in my entrepreneurial career. The second time, my team really took the reins and ran a launch almost totally without me! That experience was a wake-up call for me in a lot of ways, including seeing where I could remove some of the pressure I had been putting on myself.”

It isn’t all talk. Data says it too: 72% of leaders under age 35 say they feel used up at the end of every day, according to DDI’s latest Global Leadership Forecast Report .

For leaders, delegation is critical to avoid burnout and put their best foot forward.

However, remain prepared for the complicated emotions that come along with the relief of shortening your to-do list. Fio Dossetto , a senior content strategist and author of the contentfolks newsletter , shared her biggest struggle was getting comfortable with the lack of control that’s the part-and-parcel of delegating.

“It doesn't matter if I can actually do it. The question is, should I be doing this? Is this the right use of my time? Am I serving the company, the team, and the customer in the right way if I focus on doing this? If the answer is yes, then I can do it. But if the answer is maybe not, because there are these other three things that are more impactful or larger or more useful, then this is a good task for delegation.”

So the key here is knowing the tasks you should do — because you can do everything if it were up to you.

Benefit 2: Your colleagues are happier because you trust them

Delegation is a way of (metaphorically) saying, “I trust you,” because when you’re taking out the tasks from your to-do list, you’re trusting someone else on your team can do it just as well — if not better. It not only empowers your team members, but keeps them happy .

“As I've delegated responsibilities, tasks, and projects to my team, I've seen them feel more ‘in the know’ on important initiatives, empowered to share their perspectives, and have a pivotal role in driving our company's business outcomes — all of which boost employee morale. Delegation also helps my team members grow their careers by enabling them to build their personal brand across the company,”

Griffis (Buffer) agrees. She adds that delegating tasks often also gives you an opportunity to improve your team’s competence — especially if your team members are craving to grow out of their comfort zone.

“Knowing a teammate is looking to level up can be a good opportunity to delegate but also help that teammate grow in a new area by delegating a more complex or crucial task.”

What if you fear your way is the best way and no one else can match? 😬

Releasing control over how something gets done is perhaps one of the biggest battles you’ll fight when delegating. But remember, if you don’t trust your team with execution, you not only squash their confidence, but also let the supposedly outsourced task occupy your headspace. It’s a lose-lose scenario.

“It's important to remember that just because you do things a certain way, that doesn't make that way right or the most efficient. You have to trust your team to execute and excel,”

If your emotional battle is the opposite — coming across as too intense or overburdening someone — you’re not alone. Diana Briceño , Head of Content at VEED , was in a similar boat. She battled an internal me vs. me fight where she worried she was coming across too intense. Her solution? Open and honest communication.

“I figured if I let my team see this more human side of me as their manager, then it could help us all drop our guards a bit and have a real conversation on how we can best show up for each other professionally.”

The bottom line is that the shared benefit of collaboration only comes to fruition when you avoid micromanaging and communicate with honesty & empathy.

Benefit 3: Each task gets done with better focus and attention to detail

When you outsource tasks, you get more time and energy to dedicate to what remains on your plate. And the job you’ve delegated also gets done with more care.

John Doherty , founder of EditorNinja , says this is one of the most significant benefits he witnessed in his workflow.

“By delegating to someone else, the task or job ends up being more effective, because they are able to give that task more time. If I have 10 tasks divided between my finite hours, each only gets 10% of my effort. But if I give it to someone else, they can put 3-5x the amount of time into it.”

💡 Remember : It’s better to do one task with excellence than to do five tasks poorly.

Benefit 4: You find better ways to do the same ol’ things

You might think your way of completing a chore is the most efficient one. But once you hand over the reins to someone else, you find multiple ways to do the same thing — some of which might be more productive.

“When you give others more responsibility, they find ways to improve tasks, flows, and processes — and that helps the entire team,” says Steven Macdonald , Head of Content at INEVO .

Sometimes, you’re too close to a project to see how you can improve the processes. Other times, you do things a certain way just because that’s the way it’s always been done. Delegating allows you to broaden your horizons and bring fresh perspectives and methods to the table.

Benefit 5: You’re able to focus on tasks that you enjoy and that create the highest impact

Everyone’s to-do list has certain items that require deep work and drive the most impact. And then there are other tasks that are essential, but taxing — maybe because you’ve outgrown them or perhaps because you find them tedious.

When you spend a lot of time and energy on low-impact tasks, you take away from your potential and hinder your growth. You should spend the majority of your time in the areas you seek mastery in.

Dani Stewart , Content Lead at ConvertKit , says she also procrastinates less due to delegation. Because now, the work scheduled for the day energizes her.

“There have been many tasks in my past that I would put off until the last second because it felt like a big context switch or I had just been doing it for so long and was ready for a change. Being able to delegate these tasks has made me even more excited to do the work that I already love.”

When you delegate, you see the benefit of honing your expertise and being excited by your responsibilities.

How to delegate effectively in 4 steps

The advantages of delegation are enough to convince you to outsource. But where do you even begin? How do you choose the right people? How do you provide feedback without micromanaging?

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to delegate effectively without any friction.

Step 1: Decide what you want to delegate

Deciding which tasks you should delegate becomes easier once you know which ones you shouldn’t. Some of it will be obvious — like reporting to your manager or choosing a birthday present for your friend.

But other tasks might be more nuanced. For instance, for John Bonini , a leading B2B consultant, picking up his kids from school is non-negotiable. He wants to spend that time with his children to bond with them. So outsourcing this is out of the question. Similarly, for Darma (social media educator), outsourcing anything that centers or surrounds her personal brand — like filming a YouTube video or giving a presentation at an event — isn’t possible.

Initially, you might be tempted to delegate something you actually enjoy doing just because it’s possible to outsource it. But you shouldn’t outsource what you love to do, according to Doherty (EditorNinja):

“The most common mistake I see people make when they start delegating is delegating things that they love, and keeping things that they dislike! The approach should be flipped — delegate the things you hate that others love, and keep the things you love.”

He adds, “This is not selfish!”

So if cleaning sparks joy for you, like it does for me 🙋‍♀️, don’t tidy it away from your to-do list .

Once you know what you can’t delegate, you’re left with a list of tasks you can delegate. But you can’t hand off all these tasks at once. Here’s where the passion-competence delegation matrix comes in handy to understand what you should begin with.

• Low passion, Low competence: These are things you don’t enjoy doing and don’t excel at — outsource these first.
• Low passion, High competence: These are the tasks you are A+ in, but you are no longer excited about completing them — delegate these second.
• High passion, Low competence: These are jobs you enjoy doing, but unfortunately aren’t good at — hand-off these in the third round. These tasks can be hard to let go of, but if you can’t develop the competence or don’t have the time to master them, it’s best to outsource these tasks to an expert.
• High passion, High competence: These are the tasks you’ve mastered and love doing — ideally, you’d never delegate them. But you should consider outsourcing some low-leverage tasks here, too, if many jobs fall under this category.

⚡Pro-tip: Take this self-assessment quiz to identify the low-value tasks in your workflow.

Step 2: Choosing the right people to delegate to

After you’ve landed on the tasks you want to delegate, your next job is figuring out who will take those responsibilities.

Across all the experts I interviewed, the suggestion were similar: Delegate to someone whose role overlaps with the responsibility and who wants to grow in that area. Briceño (VEED) illustrates this with an analogy:

“Think of a content team as a shopping mall. The head of content is responsible for planning and making sure the entire mall has buy-in from stakeholders so we can build a mall with stores attractive to our target audience and a layout that encourages people to explore and buy. However, the head of content isn’t personally managing the daily operations of every single “store” themselves (or else they would never be efficient enough to get a return on their investment). Different teammates own different stores in the mall and they’re responsible for their store’s operations and keeping them stocked with the right inventory.”

Tracey Wallace , Director of Content Strategy at Klaviyo and founder of Contentment , adds to it and recommends updating the job description (JD) of an employee if they’re now handling responsibilities that weren’t present in their JD earlier:

“Don't be afraid to alter or edit JDs to reflect changes in the business and resulting changes in your team's deliverables. JDs are contracts between the company and the employee –– and if something is now on their plate that wasn't before agreed upon, update that. This helps the employee feel more in control of their career and tasks, and makes it easier for you to give a performance review based on work done in the current JD.”

When it’s not easy to decipher who’d be the best person for a job, the willingness-capability delegation matrix by Chris Allen (Editor of Management Matters ) comes in handy.

• High Willingness, High Capability: If someone has both — the desire to take on extra tasks and the skillset to accomplish them — delegating the job to them is a no-brainer.
• High Willingness, Low Capability: When you delegate to someone eager to learn but not equipped with the skills for a job, stay mentally prepared for training them in the beginning and supporting them throughout. The best tasks for this quadrant are the recurring responsibilities you want to outsource for the long-term.
• Low Willingness, Low Capability: Talked to someone who seemed uninterested in taking on an extra challenge and lacked the necessary experience to complete the job? Don’t delegate to them — it can get messy and build resentment.
• Low Willingness, High Capability: These are people you can delegate to — their skillset fits the responsibility. But they aren’t excited to take on the task. Chris Allen recommends asking these people to train and monitor the people in “High Willingness, Low Capability.” This way, no one takes on a chore they feel meh about.

Another thing to remember is the difference between delegating authority and delegating responsibility. The former means you hand over the permission to make decisions to move the project along. The latter is you ask someone to complete the job for you, but you still call the shots and require any decisions to run by you.

You can delegate both authority and responsibility. Or you can only delegate responsibility, but claim authority — it depends on the nature of the task and the skillset of the person you’re outsourcing to. Ryan Prior , Head of Marketing at Modash , says that’s a trade-off you have to decide:

“Do you pay more for an experienced person to clear the entire thing from your plate, or pay less for a less experienced person & accept you'll still need to be involved to some extent? There's no universal right answer — just keep this in mind when hiring & delegating.”

Step 3: Setting up systems, resources, and expectations to help your team succeed

The advice to prepare resources and processes before delegating echoed across almost all leaders I interviewed. You can’t throw someone in the deep end and expect them to learn how to swim on their own without any guidance.

Dossetto (contentfolks), says this can be the source of annoyance for delegators:

“[Bad delegators] kind of expect people to read their mind and therefore become frustrated when the deliverable doesn't meet the standard they have in their own head.”

Her solution? Being crystal clear about your expectations:

“What has helped me is being very specific and deliberate in my request and painting a clear picture of what I need in terms of quality. The quality means the depth, the level of detail, the level of polish, etc. […] This way, the person on the receiving end of the task understands the role they're playing and is very clear on the expectations — reducing a lot of back and forth and rework.”

Aim not to leave anyone questioning how to complete a task. Remember: What’s obvious to you might not be straightforward for someone else. Next time you do a job that you’ll delegate in the future, note down all the mini-tasks you do and the documents you open to complete the job. This will minimize the chances of you missing sharing an important resource or guidelines when handing off the responsibility.

Wallace (Klaviyo), says your ultimate goal should be to become an invisible boss:

“An old boss once told me that the best bosses are invisible. It's important that your team be so well organized that your larger organization knows who exactly to go to on your team, bypassing you, to get certain tasks done. When larger projects come across the team's plate, you can certainly delegate, but you want it to be clear to the other teams who on your team does what, in what order, so that they know who to work with, when, and for what.”

Make it a goal to set responsibilities and expectations so clearly that things run smoothly without requiring management. The mental load that you’ll put off when that happens is priceless.

You want everyone on your team to know not just the task they’re supposed to complete, but also:

• How to escalate roadblocks or risks and ask for support
• All the timelines and due dates related to the project
• Where they can find documents related to their job

The problem is as your team grows or your responsibilities become more complicated, delegating doesn’t remain so straightforward. You want to delegate execution to one person but need a senior person to direct them. Or you’re looking to hand off an important job to a junior employee but need them to take inputs from the whole team.

In these scenarios, refer to the matrix of Joseph Flahiff , author of Being Agile in a Waterfall World .

The columns are simple enough. They display who, when, what, and how of a task.

The rows are your room for nuance:

• Directed is when you take the decision alone and lead the orchestra of delegation.
• Advisory is when you seek inputs from your team, but you still have the ownership to make the final call.
• Participatory is when your opinion has the same value as everyone else’s. Majority wins.
• Released is when you delegate the delegation and hand off the responsibility and the authority entirely to someone else.

Let’s say you have a big project to outsource.

• You know the person (the “who”) you want to delegate to [directed].
• You trust them to own it (the “how”) completely [released].
• But you want your team’s input on timelines (the “when”) — although you’ll have the deciding vote [advisory].
• And you need the whole team involved to map out the tasks (the “what”) of the project [participatory].

In the matrix, your position looks something like this:

Flahiff’s matrix is perfect for leaders who are delegating projects in their entirety to large teams with varying levels of responsibility. You can also use it for tasks where the authority and responsibility aren’t distributed evenly, and you need something more nuanced to make a decision.

Step 4: Provide feedback and ask for it too

Giving feedback is often a huge undertaking for leaders because it’s time-consuming, emotionally difficult, and requires confrontation. You don’t want to upset your team members and sometimes it’s just easier to correct the errors yourself.

But when you hold back feedback, you restrict your team member’s growth. Not only will you keep reworking their slips, but you’ll also build a sourness toward them because they keep making the same mistake repeatedly — when they don’t know they’re making a mistake in the first place.

Regular check-ins and radical candor are necessary to truly delegate a task. Your colleague won’t likely nail it on the first go, and you shouldn’t expect them to. But you should proactively note down the areas of improvement and errors so they can keep excelling as they go.

The reverse is also true: When you first start delegating, you’ll likely make mistakes. Your coworkers will know areas where you can do better — maybe by adding an extra resource, creating a walkthrough of the process, or by being more available to answer queries. Asking them these questions encourages you to refine your workflows and make delegating a friction-free experience for both parties.

Prior (Modash) adds that regular feedback can also help you determine if delegating has become a lost cause:

“If you delegate something to a person & the outcome isn't good enough, usually step one (and two, and three) is to give useful feedback, clearer instructions (and so on). But it's difficult to figure out where the line is. How much more time do I have to invest in trying to delegate this thing? More feedback? At what point does it just make sense to give up & either stop doing the thing, take it back myself, or try again with someone else?”

When you regularly reflect on how the delegation process is going, you also give yourself room to evaluate if the outsourcing is going as well as you had hoped.

If not, you can determine your next steps: What needs to change for this to become successful? If the problem area is the person, maybe you need to delegate to another teammate. If it’s your micromanaging habit, perhaps you need to take your foot off the gas for a bit and check if things are working smoothly.

Ultimately, your goal is for these check-ins to become less and less frequent. You delegate a task, everyone fulfills their responsibilities without any hiccups, and the engine keeps running.

Delegation in Todoist

Productivity tools can aid your delegation efforts by creating accountability, fostering communication, and establishing a home for all tasks.

In Todoist, for example, there are workspaces to organize your projects — to keep your personal and professional life separate or to designate different places for different projects. You can collaborate with people in every workspace you create and choose the level of access for each individual.

For tasks that are solely your responsibility and aren’t fit for any shared workspace, Todoist has a “personal” workspace to store all your individual jobs in private.

But this isn’t even the best part: In the Inbox and Upcoming section of your Todoist app, all your tasks are collated from every workspace — personal, team, or anything else. Accurately planning and prioritizing your personal and professional time becomes so much simpler.

When you’re collaborating with team members on a complex project, Todoist has Boards to visualize everything clearly. Here, you can assign tasks to team members and add timelines via due dates — helping keep everyone accountable.

To make things even smoother, assign each task a Priority (1 – 4) to help your team instantly understand which are the most pressing jobs. Your colleagues can ask any follow-up questions, share related files, or update progress by commenting within each task.

The best part is collaboration in Todoist eliminates the need for communication to be synchronous and heavy-handed. Want to attach a file? Easy. A huge task looks daunting? Use the AI assistant to break it down to sub-tasks. Need to say a few notes? Record an audio comment .

Delegation is a science with a dollop of art

The trickiest part about delegation is that it's part-science and part-art. You can ace every step of the way, but you’ll still have to rely on your leader’s intuition a little bit to determine the right people, areas where you need to provide support, and when to let go of control.

For instance, you might know logically that a colleague’s skills don’t align with a task (and they might agree!), but your experience and interactions tell you they’re ready for the challenge. Or you may understand in theory that you need to avoid hand-holding for teaching a job, but you know a specific team member thrives when they get a lot of support. In these scenarios, rely on your gut to take the call.

Sometimes, it can also seem like delegation adds more tasks to your plate than it removes. And in the beginning, that might be true. But collaborating is a long game — you have to invest in it now to see compounding returns in the future. So take a dip in the water today and you’ll eventually learn to swim!

Rochi Zalani

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Home Articles Delegation Principles

Principles of effective task delegation

According to the famous business coach Stephen Covey, the term “delegation of authority” is the highest form or element of managerial activity. According to statistics, only up to 10% of managers use their time effectively. The rest are engaged in tasks that could be delegated to others.

With the development of business, the number of responsibilities assigned to managers is constantly increasing. If you do everything without delegating it to anyone, you run the risk of burnout and chronic stress neurosis. So if you want to do serious work and accomplish great things, learn to delegate your tasks to your employees.

Delegation of tasks with LeaderTask

Assign tasks to your employees right in LeaderTask to free up your time for more important things. Create projects and add your colleagues to them for collaboration and more efficient execution. Share tasks with different subordinates for joint control.

How to competently delegate authority to subordinates in order to increase the company’s profitability and become more successful? Let’s deal with this question in more detail.

What is meant by the concept

Delegation is the process of transferring certain functions of a manager to subordinates. This is necessary to achieve the overall goals of the company. The essence of delegation is to determine the limits of access and responsibility of each employee. The meaning of the concept is that the manager delegates certain tasks to subordinates so that they can make better decisions in their area of competence. By assigning a task to an employee, the manager frees up time for global strategic matters related to the development of the company. The delegation of certain powers to personnel can be one-time or permanent.

The hiring interviews should be conducted by the hiring manager. Tax calculations and preparation of typical financial reports should be left to the accounting department. The use of delegation of authority will reduce the risk of deadlines on projects in the company. This will improve the efficiency of the company and all its employees.

If most of the work tasks are tied to one person, it can be dangerous for the company. If the manager is fired or becomes ill, the whole team will suffer. Therefore, it is necessary to resort to the practice of delegation. Competent assignment of tasks helps to achieve the following goals:

• Free up management resources for cases where they cannot be replaced.
• Raise the skill level of subordinates. By taking responsibility, they will be able to learn something new.
• Improve the psychological climate in the team. By understanding the motives of supervisors, workers will be more conscientious of their authority.
• Test the abilities of your staff. By assigning certain responsibilities to employees, you can assess how well they can handle them. Based on this assessment, make an appropriate decision.
• Reduce the burden on management.
• Increase the productivity of each work unit.
• Increase staff commitment to labor.

By removing unnecessary responsibilities, the manager will be able to engage in creative and strategic work that will increase the status and success of the company. With the help of delegation, quality employment of lower-level employees is ensured.

Principles and methods

Proper assignment of tasks increases the company’s efficiency by 30-40%. The following principles of delegation of authority are based on this:

• Unity of command . Assignments are delegated directly from the direct supervisor to the employee. The CEO delegates authority to the deputy. The latter gives instructions to middle managers. They delegate tasks to their subordinates. Ordinary employees receive orders from their supervisors.
• Restrictions . A supervisor may only give assignments to his subordinates. Each department head is assigned a limited number of employees. He cannot delegate a delegated task to other subordinates.
• Respect for rights and responsibilities . Employees may not perform tasks that are not in accordance with their job description.
• Assignment of responsibility . By delegating a task to a subordinate, a supervisor is not relieved of responsibility in case of its non-fulfillment.
• Transfer of responsibility . When giving an employee an assignment, the boss must be sure that he can fulfill it.

Use these simple principles of effective delegation in your team. By setting deadlines, you will be able to control the task at every stage. Choose the right person for the job. Assign tasks to those who are ready and able to take them on.

Why delegating is so hard

Delegation of tasks has disadvantages – the possibility of barriers in communication between the manager and the subordinate, if the need to delegate authority has not been defined taking into account the needs of the organization and its goals. Lack of delegation of authority can occur if the boundaries of responsibility are not defined.

There are objective reasons that prevent managers from delegating authority to their subordinates. These are:

• The desire to demonstrate oneself as a generalist. Previously it was thought that a good manager should be able to act actively on “all fronts”. And to communicate with clients, and to select goods, and to think through advertising. This model has not been used even in small businesses for a long time. Everyone should be engaged in their own business, without being distracted by secondary matters.
• Fear that workers will fail to complete a task and have to redo it. Or damage to the company. This minimal risk has a right to exist. In any case, you can avoid it altogether or minimize it by carefully choosing who to assign tasks to.
• Complexity. A person cannot be put in front of the fact that he is obliged to do this or that job. He must be trained and assisted.

The delegation of authority is carried out from the manager to one employee, which means that assigning one task to a group of executives is not allowed. When giving an assignment, it is important to describe the essence and boundaries of the task precisely so that the employee can understand his area of responsibility.

Rules of delegation

Delegating tasks implies the introduction of time management principles into the company’s management structure. In order to make the delegation process organized and successful, you should adhere to the following rules:

• Before assigning an employee to a new task, make sure he understands its nature and can handle the assignment well.
• Don’t look for a replacement. Focus on the professionals.
• Use a vertical management structure with division of the company’s main activities. Each level should have its own manager.
• Don’t be afraid to empower your subordinates. If they ask questions about a task before you do it, ask them what they would do in that situation.
• Do not try to control every little detail. This approach can cause your employees to lose initiative and responsibility. So you will take everything on yourself again and resent the fact that “no one does anything without you”. Pay great attention to this rule, because this factor can affect you both positively and negatively.

Explain the area of responsibility to the employee. He must understand which issues and tasks must be approved on a mandatory basis. What problems must be solved independently. Learn to clearly state the task, requirements, goals and deadlines. Respond if you are approached for help. By giving feedback to subordinates, you will gain credibility and respect in their eyes. For complex, large projects, set intermediate deadlines for authority.

What types of cases can be delegated

When concentration at the operational level is prolonged, degradation is inevitable. Therefore, simple and routine tasks should be delegated to lower-ranking subordinates. The time of a powerful manager or company owner is more valuable than the time of an ordinary employee. It must be managed competently and rationally.

Knowing the characteristics of organizational levels of responsibility will help in giving the right assignments to subordinates.

Subordinates can and should be assigned tasks:

• Preparatory work on the project, including information gathering, analysis of competitive advantages. Creation of a base for calling potential clients.
• Easy things to do. As an example, filling out an online store catalog or entering invoices into the accounting system. All tasks with checklists or instructions should be delegated.
• Repeat business (publishing social media posts, mailings).
• One-off tasks that do not affect the functioning of the company (organization of a corporate event).

Key parts of the business that are more complex than a routine task, important processes, risky projects, strategic or administrative tasks cannot be delegated.

LeaderTask – an effective tool for setting tasks

Delegation of authority in management cannot be called a simple process. In order to properly delegate tasks to subordinates, a manager must make decisions quickly. To take responsibility for the actions of a whole team of employees. A competent manager is able to clearly create assignments to performers and distribute them. Controls their execution at every stage. Timely makes the necessary adjustments to the task, composite tasks according to the plan and importance. Corrects errors arising during the work on the task. Gives a professional assessment of the performer’s performance.

Special electronic applications have been developed to organize project management, and we want to tell you about one of them. LeaderTask is a program that combines the functions of a daily planner, scheduler, task manager and personal secretary of the manager.

Information about projects in LeaderTask is presented by means of a single database. By structuring the tasks of the organization, you can properly assign the task to the executor. Track the progress of their fulfillment from the beginning to the end. Using LeaderTask, you will be able to:

• Organize paper and electronic documentation. Conveniently store contracts, regulations, theory, schemes.
• Schedule important deals, meetings, negotiations for a convenient time.
• Organize collaborative work on projects.
• Select the best performer to complete the task.
• Evaluate the quality and benefit of performers work.
• Receive detailed updates on project progress even when not in the office.

The app synchronizes with popular services and works on all digital platforms.

A good manager is a teacher who is patient with the mistakes of his subordinates and genuinely rejoices in their successes. Do not overdo it with supervision. If you constantly “stand behind the performer”, he will not be able to concentrate on the work and perform the task well, so it is important to have a good relationship with your employees.

To delegate successfully, you need to teach your subordinates to have a positive attitude and to do the job correctly. This will make it easier to develop detailed instructions. They should describe technologies, factors, and work algorithms. The performer should clearly understand what he is doing, why and for what purpose, follow these and instructions in the course of work on the task and when making decisions. Then he will successfully cope with the assigned task, and you will have time for important and strategic matters.

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What Is the Difference Between Assignment and Delegation?

The difference between assignment and delegation is that an assignment can't increase another party's obligations. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

Updated October 20, 2020

The difference between assignment and delegation is that an assignment can't increase another party's obligations. Delegation, on the other hand, is a method of using a contract to transfer one party's obligations to another party. Assigning rights is usually easier than delegating, and fewer restrictions are in place.

The Process of Assignment

With a contract, each party involved holds certain rights. When the party referred to as the assignor gives his or her rights to the party known as the assignee, this is called the process of assignment. For example, if you are a contractor doing house repairs and have agreed to perform a job for a specific amount of pay, you can assign your right to receive that specific amount of pay to another person. If you do this, it means your rights under the contract have been assigned, by you, to that other person.

When You Can't Assign Contractual Obligations

Most of the time, the parties involved in a contract are able to freely assign their rights, but there are times when that isn't an option. One example is if a company enters into an enforceable agreement , also called a contract, to provide a specific amount of merchandise to a store or boutique. The store or boutique can't have the products delivered to a location that's farther away because that would increase the original company's obligation and delivery costs without their permission or agreement. Contracts are also sometimes written to prohibit assignment.

Defining Delegation

When you transfer duties, you have contractually agreed to perform, that's the delegation of your obligations, with the difference between delegation and assignment being that you aren't transferring rights, you're delegating obligations to a different party. Delegating duties you have contractually agreed to is typically permitted, but there are times when delegation isn't allowed.

• When the delegation of obligations would alter the scope of the agreement, it isn't allowed.
• A promise to repay a debt usually can't be delegated.
• Delegation isn't allowed if the parties involved in the contract draft that into the agreement.

Is Third-Party Consent Required for Assignment and Delegation?

Third-party consent isn't a requirement for a contractual assignment, which is linked to rights in an enforceable agreement. A delegation, however, does require that the person being assigned the task be not only aware, but they must explicitly accept the responsibility being assigned. The term for this type of delegation is the delegation of the performance of a duty . While the consequences of assignment and delegation aren't the same, the terms can be used in an interchangeable manner when consequences aren't involved.

Consequences of Assignment

Consequences of assignments include:

• The assignee's right to file a suit against the obligor if performance falls short.
• The obligor gets the same protection against the assignee the assignor gets.
• The obligor's payments to the assignor stay in effect until the obligor knows about the assignment.
• A contractual modification set up between the obligor and assignor remains in effect if the obligor was unaware of the assignment.

Consequences of Delegation

Delegation's consequences include:

• The liability falls to the party delegating the obligation to another party.
• The delegatee only has an obligation to the Obligees when consideration, or some form of payment, is received from the delegating party.

Assignments and delegation can only happen if the boundaries set by the contract allow it. Businesses often restrict the ability to assign rights or delegate duties because of not being sure who the rights or duties might be assigned to if not stopped contractually. This especially applies to delegation.

Delegation of Performance

No delegation of performance is able to relieve the delegating party's obligation to perform as contracted, and it doesn't remove liability for breach of contract. The right to receive damages in the event of a breach of contract can, however, be assigned regardless of an agreement that states otherwise. If the other party in the agreement designates performance as a factor that creates a sense of insecurity, they can then treat an assignment as a reason to demand assurances from the assignee. The original promise to perform is then enforceable by the assignor to the other party who was part of the original agreement.

If you need help with the difference between assignment and delegation, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN); Ernstmeyer K, Christman E, editors. Nursing Management and Professional Concepts [Internet]. Eau Claire (WI): Chippewa Valley Technical College; 2022.

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Chapter 3 - Delegation and Supervision

3.1. delegation & supervision introduction, learning objectives.

• Identify typical scope of practice of the RN, LPN/VN, and assistive personnel roles

• Identify tasks that can and cannot be delegated to members of the nursing team

• Describe the five rights of effective delegation

• Explain the responsibilities of the RN when delegating and supervising tasks

• Explain the responsibilities of the delegatee when performing delegated tasks

• Outline the responsibilities of the employer and nurse leader regarding delegation

• Describe supervision of delegated acts

As health care technology continues to advance, clients require increasingly complex nursing care, and as staffing becomes more challenging, health care agencies respond with an evolving variety of nursing and assistive personnel roles and responsibilities to meet these demands. As an RN, you are on the frontlines caring for ill or injured clients and their families, advocating for clients’ rights, creating nursing care plans, educating clients on how to self-manage their health, and providing leadership throughout the complex health care system. Delivering safe, effective, quality client care requires the RN to coordinate care by the nursing team as tasks are assigned, delegated, and supervised.  Nursing team members  include advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), registered nurses (RN), licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VN), and assistive personnel (AP).[ 1 ]  Assistive personnel (AP)  (formerly referred to as ‘‘unlicensed” assistive personnel [UAP]) are any assistive personnel trained to function in a supportive role, regardless of title, to whom a nursing responsibility may be delegated. This includes, but is not limited to, certified nursing assistants or aides (CNAs), patient-care technicians (PCTs), certified medical assistants (CMAs), certified medication aides, and home health aides.[ 2 ] Making assignments, delegating tasks, and supervising delegatees are essential components of the RN role and can also provide the RN more time to focus on the complex needs of clients. For example, an RN may delegate to AP the attainment of vital signs for clients who are stable, thus providing the nurse more time to closely monitor the effectiveness of interventions in maintaining complex clients’ hemodynamics, thermoregulation, and oxygenation. Collaboration among the nursing care team members allows for the delivery of optimal care as various skill sets are implemented to care for the patient.

Properly assigning and delegating tasks to nursing team members can promote efficient client care. However, inappropriate assignments or delegation can compromise client safety and produce unsatisfactory client outcomes that may result in legal issues. How does the RN know what tasks can be assigned or delegated to nursing team members and assistive personnel? What steps should the RN follow when determining if care can be delegated? After assignments and delegations are established, what is the role and responsibility of the RN in supervising client care? This chapter will explore and define the fundamental concepts involved in assigning, delegating, and supervising client care according to the most recent joint national delegation guidelines published by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA).[ 3 ]

3.3. ASSIGNMENT

Nursing team members working in inpatient or long-term care settings receive patient assignments at the start of their shift.  Assignment  refers to routine care, activities, and procedures that are within the legal scope of practice of registered nurses (RN), licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VN), or assistive personnel (AP).[ 1 ] Scope of practice for RNs and LPNs is described in each state’s Nurse Practice Act. Care tasks for AP vary by state; regulations are typically listed on sites for the state’s Board of Nursing, Department of Health, Department of Aging, Department of Health Professions, Department of Commerce, or Office of Long-Term Care.[ 2 ]

See Table 3.3a for common tasks performed by members of the nursing team based on their scope of practice. These tasks are within the traditional role and training the team member has acquired through a basic educational program. They are also within the expectations of the health care agency during a shift of work. Agency policy can be more restrictive than federal or state regulations, but it cannot be less restrictive.

Patient assignments are typically made by the charge nurse (or nurse supervisor) from the previous shift. A charge nurse is an RN who provides leadership on a patient-care unit within a health care facility during their shift. Charge nurses perform many of the tasks that general nurses do, but also have some supervisory duties such as making assignments, delegating tasks, preparing schedules, monitoring admissions and discharges, and serving as a staff member resource.[ 3 ]

Nursing Team Members’ Scope of Practice and Common Tasks[ 4 ]

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An example of a patient assignment is when an RN assigns an LPN/VN to care for a client with stable heart failure. The LPN/VN collects assessment data, monitors intake/output throughout the shift, and administers routine oral medication. The LPN/VN documents this information and reports information back to the RN. This is considered the LPN/VN’s “assignment” because the skills are taught within an LPN educational program and are consistent with the state’s Nurse Practice Act for LPN/VN scope of practice. They are also included in the unit’s job description for an LPN/VN. The RN may also assign some care for this client to AP. These tasks may include assistance with personal hygiene, toileting, and ambulation. The AP documents these tasks as they are completed and reports information back to the RN or LPN/VN. These tasks are considered the AP’s assignment because they are taught within a nursing aide’s educational program, are consistent with the AP’s scope of practice for that state, and are included in the job description for the nursing aide’s role in this unit. The RN continues to be accountable for the care provided to this client despite the assignments made to other nursing team members.

Special consideration is required for AP with additional training. With increased staffing needs, skills such as administering medications, inserting Foley catheters, or performing injections are included in specialized training programs for AP. Due to the impact these skills can have on the outcome and safety of the client, the National Council of State Board of Nursing (NCSBN) recommends these activities be considered delegated tasks by the RN or nurse leader. By delegating these advanced skills when appropriate, the nurse validates competency, provides supervision, and maintains accountability for client outcomes. Read more about delegation in the “ Delegation ” section of this chapter.

When making assignments to other nursing team members, it is essential for the RN to keep in mind specific tasks that cannot be delegated to other nursing team members based on federal and/or state regulations. These tasks include, but are not limited to, those tasks described in Table 3.3b .

Examples of Tasks Outside the Scope of Practice of Nursing Assistive Personnel

As always, refer to each state’s Nurse Practice Act and other state regulations for specific details about nursing team members’ scope of practice when providing care in that state.

Find and review Nurse Practice Acts by state at  www.ncsbn.org/npa. Read more about the Wisconsin’s Nurse Practice Act and the standards and scope of practice for RNs and LPNs  Wisconsin’s Legislative Code Chapter N6. Read more about scope of practice, skills, and practices of nurse aides in Wisconsin at  DHS 129.07 Standards for Nurse Aide Training Programs.

3.4. DELEGATION

There has been significant national debate over the difference between assignment and delegation over the past few decades. In 2019 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) published updated joint National Guidelines on Nursing Delegation (NGND).[ 1 ] These guidelines apply to all levels of nursing licensure (advanced practice registered nurses [APRN], registered nurses [RN], and licensed practical/vocational nurses [LPN/VN]) when delegating when there is no specific guidance provided by the state’s Nurse Practice Act (NPA).[ 2 ] It is important to note that states have different laws and rules/regulations regarding delegation, so it is the responsibility of all licensed nurses to know what is permitted in their jurisdiction.

The NGND defines a  delegatee  as an RN, LPN/VN, or AP who is delegated a nursing responsibility by either an APRN, RN, or LPN/VN, is competent to perform the task, and verbally accepts the responsibility.[ 3 ] D elegation  is allowing a delegatee to perform a specific nursing activity, skill, or procedure that is beyond the delegatee’s traditional role and not routinely performed, but the individual has obtained additional training and validated their competence to perform the delegated responsibility.[ 4 ] However, the licensed nurse still maintains accountability for overall client care.  Accountability  is defined as being answerable to oneself and others for one’s own choices, decisions, and actions as measured against a standard. Therefore, if a nurse does not feel it is appropriate to delegate a certain responsibility to a delegatee, the delegating nurse should perform the activity themselves.[ 5 ]

Delegation is summarized in the NGND as the following[ 6 ]:

• A delegatee is allowed to perform a specific nursing activity, skill, or procedure that is outside the traditional role and basic responsibilities of the delegatee’s current job.
• The delegatee has obtained the additional education and training and validated competence to perform the care/delegated responsibility. The context and processes associated with competency validation will be different for each activity, skill, or procedure being delegated. Competency validation should be specific to the knowledge and skill needed to safely perform the delegated responsibility, as well as to the level of the practitioner (e.g., RN, LPN/VN, AP) to whom the activity, skill, or procedure has been delegated. The licensed nurse who delegates the “responsibility” maintains overall accountability for the client, but the delegatee bears the responsibility for completing the delegated activity, skill, or procedure.
• The licensed nurse cannot delegate nursing clinical judgment or any activity that will involve nursing clinical judgment or critical decision-making to AP.
• Nursing responsibilities are delegated by a licensed nurse who has the authority to delegate and the delegated responsibility is within the delegator’s scope of practice.

An example of delegation is medication administration that is delegated by a licensed nurse to AP with additional training in some agencies, according to agency policy. This task is outside the traditional role of AP, but the delegatee has received additional training for this delegated responsibility and has completed competency validation in completing this task accurately.

An example illustrating the difference between assignment and delegation is assisting patients with eating. Feeding patients is typically part of the routine role of AP. However, if a client has recently experienced a stroke (i.e., cerebrovascular accident) or is otherwise experiencing swallowing difficulties (e.g., dysphagia), this task cannot be assigned to AP because it is not considered routine care. Instead, the RN should perform this task themselves or delegate it to an AP who has received additional training on feeding assistance.

The delegation process is multifaceted. See Figure 3.2 [ 7 ] for an illustration of the intersecting responsibilities of the employer/nurse leader, licensed nurse, and delegatee with two-way communication that protects the safety of the public. “Delegation begins at the administrative/nurse leader level of the organization and includes determining nursing responsibilities that can be delegated, to whom, and under what circumstances; developing delegation policies and procedures; periodically evaluating delegation processes; and promoting a positive culture/work environment. The licensed nurse is responsible for determining client needs and when to delegate, ensuring availability to the delegatee, evaluating outcomes, and maintaining accountability for delegated responsibility. Finally, the delegatee must accept activities based on their competency level, maintain competence for delegated responsibility, and maintain accountability for delegated activity.”[ 8 ]

Multifaceted Delegation Process

Five Rights of Delegation

How does the RN determine what tasks can be delegated, when, and to whom? According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), RNs should use the five rights of delegation to ensure proper and appropriate delegation: right task, right circumstance, right person, right directions and communication, and right supervision and evaluation[ 9 ]:

• Right task:  The activity falls within the delegatee’s job description or is included as part of the established policies and procedures of the nursing practice setting. The facility needs to ensure the policies and procedures describe the expectations and limits of the activity and provide any necessary competency training.
• Right circumstance:  The health condition of the client must be stable. If the client’s condition changes, the delegatee must communicate this to the licensed nurse, and the licensed nurse must reassess the situation and the appropriateness of the delegation.[ 10 ]
• Right person:  The licensed nurse, along with the employer and the delegatee, is responsible for ensuring that the delegatee possesses the appropriate skills and knowledge to perform the activity.[ 11 ]
• Right directions and communication:  Each delegation situation should be specific to the client, the nurse, and the delegatee. The licensed nurse is expected to communicate specific instructions for the delegated activity to the delegatee; the delegatee, as part of two-way communication, should ask any clarifying questions. This communication includes any data that need to be collected, the method for collecting the data, the time frame for reporting the results to the licensed nurse, and additional information pertinent to the situation. The delegatee must understand the terms of the delegation and must agree to accept the delegated activity. The licensed nurse should ensure the delegatee understands they cannot make any decisions or modifications in carrying out the activity without first consulting the licensed nurse.[ 12 ]
• Right supervision and evaluation:  The licensed nurse is responsible for monitoring the delegated activity, following up with the delegatee at the completion of the activity, and evaluating client outcomes. The delegatee is responsible for communicating client information to the licensed nurse during the delegation situation. The licensed nurse should be ready and available to intervene as necessary. The licensed nurse should ensure appropriate documentation of the activity is completed.[ 13 ]

Simply stated, the licensed nurse determines the right person is assigned the right tasks for the right clients under the right circumstances. When determining what aspects of care can be delegated, the licensed nurse uses clinical judgment while considering the client’s current clinical condition, as well as the abilities of the health care team member. The RN must also consider if the circumstances are appropriate for delegation. For example, although obtaining routine vitals signs on stable clients may be appropriate to delegate to assistive personnel, obtaining vitals signs on an unstable client is not appropriate to delegate.

After the decision has been made to delegate, the nurse assigning the tasks must communicate appropriately with the delegatee and provide the right directions and supervision. Communication is key to successful delegation. Clear, concise, and closed-loop communication is essential to ensure successful completion of the delegated task in a safe manner. During the final step of delegation, also referred to as  supervision , the nurse verifies and evaluates that the task was performed correctly, appropriately, safely, and competently. Read more about supervision in the following subsection on “ Supervision .” See Table 3.4 for additional questions to consider for each “right” of delegation.

Rights of Delegation[ 14 ]

Keep in mind that any nursing intervention that requires specific nursing knowledge, clinical judgment, or use of the nursing process can only be delegated to another RN. Examples of these types of tasks include initial preoperative or admission assessments, client teaching, and creation and evaluation of a nursing care plan. See Figure 3.3 [ 15 ] for an algorithm based on the 2019 National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation that can be used when deciding if a nursing task can be delegated.[ 16 ]

Delegation Algorithm

Responsibilities of the Licensed Nurse

The licensed nurse has several responsibilities as part of the delegation process. According to the NGND, any decision to delegate a nursing responsibility must be based on the needs of the client or population, the stability and predictability of the client’s condition, the documented training and competence of the delegatee, and the ability of the licensed nurse to supervise the delegated responsibility and its outcome with consideration to the available staff mix and client acuity. Additionally, the licensed nurse must consider the state Nurse Practice Act regarding delegation and the employer’s policies and procedures prior to making a final decision to delegate. Licensed nurses must be aware that delegation is at the nurse’s discretion, with consideration of the particular situation. The licensed nurse maintains accountability for the client, while the delegatee is responsible for the delegated activity, skill, or procedure. If, under the circumstances, a nurse does not feel it is appropriate to delegate a certain responsibility to a delegatee, the delegating nurse should perform the activity.[ 17 ]

The licensed nurse must determine when and what to delegate based on the practice setting, the client’s needs and condition, the state’s/jurisdiction’s provisions for delegation, and the employer’s policies and procedures regarding delegating a specific responsibility. The licensed nurse must determine the needs of the client and whether those needs are matched by the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the delegatee and can be performed safely by the delegatee. The licensed nurse cannot delegate any activity that requires clinical reasoning, nursing judgment, or critical decision-making. The licensed nurse must ultimately make the final decision whether an activity is appropriate to delegate to the delegatee based on the “Five Rights of Delegation.”

• Rationale:  The licensed nurse, who is present at the point of care, is in the best position to assess the needs of the client and what can or cannot be delegated in specific situations.[ 18 ]

The licensed nurse must communicate with the delegatee who will be assisting in providing client care.  This should include reviewing the delegatee’s assignment and discussing delegated responsibilities, including information on the client’s condition/stability, any specific information pertaining to a certain client (e.g., no blood draws in the right arm), and any specific information about the client’s condition that should be communicated back to the licensed nurse by the delegatee.

• Rationale:  Communication must be a two-way process involving both the licensed nurse delegating the activity and the delegatee being delegated the responsibility. Evidence shows that the better the communication between the nurse and the delegatee, the more optimal the outcome. The licensed nurse must provide information about the client and care requirements. This includes any specific issues related to any delegated responsibilities. These instructions should include any unique client requirements. The licensed nurse must instruct the delegatee to regularly communicate the status of the client.[ 19 ]

The licensed nurse must be available to the delegatee for guidance and questions, including assisting with the delegated responsibility, if necessary, or performing it themselves if the client’s condition or other circumstances  warrant doing so.

• Rationale:  Delegation calls for nursing judgment throughout the process. The final decision to delegate rests in the hands of the licensed nurse as they have overall accountability for the client.[ 20 ]

The licensed nurse must follow up with the delegatee and the client after the delegated responsibility has been completed.

• Rationale:  The licensed nurse who delegates the “responsibility” maintains overall accountability for the client, while the delegatee is responsible for the delegated activity, skill, or procedure.[ 21 ]

The licensed nurse must provide feedback information about the delegation process and any issues regarding delegatee competence level to the nurse leader. Licensed nurses in the facility need to communicate to the nurse leader responsible for delegation any issues arising related to delegation and any individual whom they identify as not being competent in a specific responsibility or unable to use good judgment and decision-making.

• Rationale:  This will allow the nurse leader responsible for delegation to develop a plan to address the situation.[ 22 ]

The decision of whether or not to delegate or assign is based on the RN’s judgment concerning the condition of the client, the competence of the nursing team member, and the degree of supervision that will be required of the RN if a task is delegated.[ 23 ]

Responsibilities of the Delegatee

Everyone is responsible for the well-being of clients. While the nurse is ultimately accountable for the overall care provided to a client, the delegatee shares the responsibility for the client and is fully responsible for the delegated activity, skill, or procedure.[ 24 ] The delegatee has the following responsibilities:

The delegatee must accept only the delegated responsibilities that they are appropriately trained and educated to perform and feel comfortable doing given the specific circumstances in the health care setting and client’s condition. The delegatee should confirm acceptance of the responsibility to carry out the delegated activity. If the delegatee does not believe they have the appropriate competency to complete the delegated responsibility, then the delegatee should not accept the delegated responsibility. This includes informing the nursing leadership if they do not feel they have received adequate training to perform the delegated responsibility, do not perform the procedure frequently enough to do it safely, or their knowledge and skills need updating.

• Rationale:  The delegatee shares the responsibility to keep clients safe, and this includes only performing activities, skills, or procedures in which they are competent and comfortable doing.[ 25 ]

The delegatee must maintain competency for the delegated responsibility.

• Rationale:  Competency is an ongoing process. Even if properly taught, the delegatee may become less competent if they do not frequently perform the procedure. Given that the delegatee shares the responsibility for the client, the delegatee also has a responsibility to maintain competency.[ 26 ]

The delegatee must communicate with the licensed nurse in charge of the client.  This includes any questions related to the delegated responsibility and follow-up on any unusual incidents that may have occurred while the delegatee was performing the delegated responsibility, any concerns about a client’s condition, and any other information important to the client’s care.

• Rationale:  The delegatee is a partner in providing client care. They are interacting with the client/family and caring for the client. This information and two-way communication are important for successful delegation and optimal outcomes for the client.[ 27 ]

Once the delegatee verifies acceptance of the delegated responsibility, the delegatee is accountable for carrying out the delegated responsibility correctly and completing timely and accurate documentation per facility policy.

• Rationale:  The delegatee cannot delegate to another individual. If the delegatee is unable to complete the responsibility or feels as though they need assistance, the delegatee should inform the licensed nurse immediately so the licensed nurse can assess the situation and provide support. Only the licensed nurse can determine if it is appropriate to delegate the activity to another individual. If at any time the licensed nurse determines they need to perform the delegated responsibility, the delegatee must relinquish responsibility upon request of the licensed nurse.[ 28 ]

Responsibilities of the Employer/Nurse Leader

The employer and nurse leaders also have responsibilities related to safe delegation of client care:

The employer must identify a nurse leader responsible for oversight of delegated responsibilities for the facility.  If there is only one licensed nurse within the practice setting, that licensed nurse must be responsible for oversight of delegated responsibilities for the facility.

• Rationale:  The nurse leader has the ability to assess the needs of the facility, understand the type of knowledge and skill needed to perform a specific nursing responsibility, and be accountable for maintaining a safe environment for clients. They are also aware of the knowledge, skill level, and limitations of the licensed nurses and AP. Additionally, the nurse leader is positioned to develop appropriate staffing models that take into consideration the need for delegation. Therefore, the decision to delegate begins with a thorough assessment by a nurse leader designated by the institution to oversee the process.[ 29 ]

The designated nurse leader responsible for delegation, ideally with a committee (consisting of other nurse leaders) formed for the purposes of addressing delegation, must determine which nursing responsibilities may be delegated, to whom, and under what circumstances. The nurse leader must be aware of the state Nurse Practice Act and the laws/rules and regulations that affect the delegation process and ensure all institutional policies are in accordance with the law.

• Rationale:  A systematic approach to the delegation process fosters communication and consistency of the process throughout the facility.[ 30 ]

Policies and procedures for delegation must be developed.  The employer/nurse leader must outline specific responsibilities that can be delegated and to whom these responsibilities can be delegated. The policies and procedures should also indicate what may not be delegated. The employer must periodically review the policies and procedures for delegation to ensure they remain consistent with current nursing practice trends and that they are consistent with the state Nurse Practice Act. (Institution/employer policies can be more restrictive, but not less restrictive.)

• Rationale:  Policies and procedures standardize the appropriate method of care and ensure safe practices. Having a policy and procedure specific to delegation and delegated responsibilities eliminates questions from licensed nurses and AP about what can be delegated and how they should be performed.[ 31 ]

The employer/nurse leader must communicate information about delegation to the licensed nurses and AP and educate them about what responsibilities can be delegated. This information should include the competencies of delegatees who can safely perform a specific nursing responsibility.

• Rationale:  Licensed nurses must be aware of the competence level of staff and expectations for delegation (as described within the policies and procedures) to make informed decisions on whether or not delegation is appropriate for the given situation. Licensed nurses maintain accountability for the client. However, the delegatee has responsibility for the delegated activity, skill, or procedure.

In summary, delegation is the transfer of the nurse’s responsibility for a task while retaining professional accountability for the client’s overall outcome. The decision to delegate is based on the nurse’s judgment, the act of delegation must be clearly defined by the nurse, and the outcomes of delegation are an extension of the nurse’s guidance and supervision. Delegation, when rooted in mutual respect and trust, is a key component to an effective health care team.

3.5. SUPERVISION

The licensed nurse has the responsibility to supervise, monitor, and evaluate the nursing team members who have received delegated tasks, activities, or procedures. As previously noted, the act of supervision requires the nurse to assess the staff member’s ability, competency, and experience prior to delegating. After the nurse has made the decision to delegate, supervision continues in terms of coaching, supporting, assisting, and educating as needed throughout the task to assure appropriate care is provided.

The nurse is accountable for client care delegated to other team members. Communication and supervision should be ongoing processes throughout the shift within the nursing care team. The nurse must ensure quality of care, appropriateness, timeliness, and completeness through direct and indirect supervision. For example, an RN may directly observe the AP reposition a client or assist them to the bathroom to assure both client and staff safety are maintained. An RN may also indirectly evaluate an LPN’s administration of medication by reviewing documentation in the client’s medical record for timeliness and accuracy. Through direct and indirect supervision of delegation, quality client care and compliance with standards of practice and facility policies can be assured.

Supervision also includes providing constructive feedback to the nursing team member.  Constructive feedback  is supportive and identifies solutions to areas needing improvement. It is provided with positive intentions to address specific issues or concerns as the person learns and grows in their role. Constructive feedback includes several key points:

• Was the task, activity, care, or procedure performed correctly?
• Were the expected outcomes involving delegation for that client achieved?
• Did the team member utilize effective and timely communication?
• What were the challenges of the activity and what aspects went well?
• Were there any problems or specific concerns that occurred and how were they managed?

After these questions have been addressed, the RN creates a plan for future delegation with the nursing team member. This plan typically includes the following:

• Recognizing difficulty of the nursing team member in initiating or completing the delegated activities.
• Observing the client’s responses to actions performed by the nursing team member.
• Following up in a timely manner on any problems, incidents, or concerns that arose.
• Creating a plan for providing additional training and monitoring outcomes of future delegated tasks, activities, or procedures.
• Consulting with appropriate nursing administrators per agency policy if the client’s safety was compromised.

3.6. SPOTLIGHT APPLICATION

You are an RN and are reporting to work on a 16-bed medical/renal unit in a county hospital for the 0700 – 1500 shift today. The client population is primarily socioeconomically disadvantaged. Staff for the shift includes four RNs, one LPN/VN, and two AP.

You are a new RN graduate on the unit, and your orientation was completed two weeks ago. The LPN/VN has been working on the unit for ten years. Both AP have been on the unit for six months and are certified nursing assistants after completing basic nurse aide training. You, as one of four RNs on the unit, have been assigned four clients. You share the LPN with the other RNs, and there is one AP for every two RNs.

The charge nurse has assigned you the following four clients. Scheduled morning medications are due at 0800 and all four require some assistance with their ADLs.

• Client A:  An obese 52-year-old male with hypertension and diabetes requiring insulin therapy. He has been depressed since recently being diagnosed with end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis. He needs his morning medications and assistance getting dressed for transport to hemodialysis in 30 minutes.
• Client B:  A 83-year-old female client with acute pyelonephritis admitted two days ago. She has a PICC line in place and is receiving IV vancomycin every 12 hours. The next dose is due at 0830 after a trough level is drawn.
• Client C:  A 78-year-old male recently diagnosed with bladder cancer. He has bright red urine today but reports it is painless. He has surgery scheduled at 0900 and the pre-op checklist has not yet been completed.
• Client D:  A malnourished 80-year-old male client admitted with dehydration and imbalanced electrolyte levels. He is being discharged home today and requires patient education.

Reflective Questions

At the start of the shift, you determine which tasks, cares, activities, and/or procedures you will delegate to the LPN and AP. What factors must you consider prior to delegation?

What tasks will you delegate to the LPN/VN?

What tasks will you delegate to the AP?

3.7. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Learning activities.

(Answers to “Learning Activities” can be found in the “Answer Key” at the end of the book. Answers to interactive activities are provided as immediate feedback.)

Review the following case studies regarding nurse liability associated with inappropriate delegation:

• Nurse Case Study: Wrongful delegation of patient care to unlicensed assistive personnel
• Nurse Video Case Study: Failure to assess and monitor

Reflective Questions:  What delegation errors occurred in each of these scenarios and what were the repercussions of these errors for the nurses involved?

III. GLOSSARY

Being answerable to oneself and others for one’s own choices, decisions, and actions as measured against a standard.

Routine care, activities, and procedures that are within the authorized scope of practice of the RN, LPN/VN, or routine functions of the assistive personnel.

Any assistive personnel (formerly referred to as ‘‘unlicensed” assistive personnel [UAP]) trained to function in a supportive role, regardless of title, to whom a nursing responsibility may be delegated. This includes, but is not limited to, certified nursing assistants or aides (CNAs), patient-care technicians (PCTs), certified medical assistants (CMAs), certified medication aides, and home health aides. [1]

A process that enables the person giving the instructions to hear what they said reflected back and to confirm that their message was, in fact, received correctly.

Supportive feedback that offers solutions to areas of weakness.

An RN, LPN/VN, or AP who is delegated a nursing responsibility by either an APRN, RN, or LPN/VN who is competent to perform the task and verbally accepts the responsibility.

Allowing a delegatee to perform a specific nursing activity, skill, or procedure that is beyond the delegatee’s traditional role but in which they have received additional training.

An APRN, RN, or LPN/VN who requests a specially trained delegatee to perform a specific nursing activity, skill, or procedure that is beyond the delegatee’s traditional role.

Right task, right circumstance, right person, right directions and communication, and right supervision and evaluation.

Advanced practice registered nurses (APRN), registered nurses (RN), licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPN/VN), and assistive personnel (AP).

Procedures, actions, and processes that a health care practitioner is permitted to undertake in keeping with the terms of their professional license.

Appropriate monitoring of the delegated activity, evaluation of patient outcomes, and follow-up with the delegatee at the completion of the activity.

Making adjustments to medication dosage per an established protocol to obtain a desired therapeutic outcome.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

• Cite this Page Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN); Ernstmeyer K, Christman E, editors. Nursing Management and Professional Concepts [Internet]. Eau Claire (WI): Chippewa Valley Technical College; 2022. Chapter 3 - Delegation and Supervision.
• PDF version of this title (18M)

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• DELEGATION & SUPERVISION INTRODUCTION
• SUPERVISION
• SPOTLIGHT APPLICATION
• LEARNING ACTIVITIES

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Assignment vs. Delegation

What's the difference.

Assignment and delegation are two different ways of distributing tasks and responsibilities within a group or organization. Assignment refers to the act of allocating specific tasks or projects to individuals or teams based on their skills, expertise, or availability. It involves providing clear instructions and expectations to the assigned person, who then becomes solely responsible for completing the task. On the other hand, delegation involves entrusting someone with the authority to make decisions and take actions on behalf of the delegator. It involves not only assigning tasks but also granting the necessary power and autonomy to the delegatee to accomplish the assigned tasks. While assignment focuses on task distribution, delegation emphasizes the transfer of authority and decision-making power.

Further Detail

Introduction.

When it comes to managing tasks and responsibilities, two common approaches are assignment and delegation. Both methods involve distributing work among individuals or teams, but they differ in terms of authority, control, and accountability. In this article, we will explore the attributes of assignment and delegation, highlighting their key differences and benefits.

Assignment refers to the act of allocating specific tasks or projects to individuals or teams. It involves providing clear instructions, setting deadlines, and defining the expected outcomes. Assignments are typically made by a person in a position of authority, such as a manager or supervisor, who has the power to distribute work among subordinates.

One of the key attributes of assignment is the level of control it offers to the assignor. By assigning tasks, the assignor retains a significant degree of authority over the process and outcome. They have the power to dictate how the work should be done, provide guidance, and make decisions along the way. This level of control can be beneficial in situations where strict adherence to guidelines or standards is crucial.

Another attribute of assignment is the clear accountability it establishes. When tasks are assigned, the assignee becomes responsible for completing them within the given timeframe and meeting the specified requirements. This accountability ensures that individuals are held responsible for their work and can be evaluated based on their performance.

Furthermore, assignment allows for a structured approach to task distribution. The assignor can carefully assess the skills, capabilities, and workload of each individual or team before making assignments. This enables a more efficient allocation of resources and ensures that tasks are assigned to the most suitable individuals or teams.

However, assignment also has its limitations. The assignor may become overwhelmed with the responsibility of distributing tasks and overseeing their progress. This can lead to micromanagement and a lack of autonomy for the assignees. Additionally, if the assignor is unavailable or lacks the necessary expertise, it may result in suboptimal task allocation.

Delegation, on the other hand, involves entrusting a task or responsibility to another person or team while retaining overall accountability. It is a process that empowers individuals or teams to make decisions, take ownership, and exercise their judgment in completing the delegated tasks.

One of the key attributes of delegation is the level of autonomy it provides to the delegatee. Unlike assignment, delegation allows individuals or teams to have more control over the process and decision-making. They are given the authority to determine how the task should be accomplished, which can foster creativity, innovation, and a sense of ownership.

Another attribute of delegation is the opportunity for skill development and growth. By delegating tasks, the delegator can empower individuals or teams to take on new challenges, learn new skills, and expand their capabilities. This not only benefits the delegatee but also helps in building a more versatile and resilient workforce.

Furthermore, delegation can enhance collaboration and teamwork. When tasks are delegated, it encourages individuals or teams to work together, share knowledge, and support each other in achieving the common goal. This collaborative approach can lead to improved communication, increased efficiency, and a stronger sense of camaraderie.

However, delegation also comes with its own set of challenges. The delegator needs to carefully select the right individuals or teams to delegate tasks to, considering their skills, experience, and availability. Inadequate delegation can result in tasks being mishandled or not completed to the desired standard. Additionally, the delegator needs to strike a balance between providing guidance and support while allowing the delegatee to exercise their autonomy.

Now that we have explored the attributes of assignment and delegation, let's compare them to understand their differences more clearly.

Authority and Control

Assignment provides a higher level of authority and control to the assignor. They have the power to dictate how the work should be done and make decisions along the way. In contrast, delegation empowers the delegatee with more autonomy and decision-making authority, allowing them to determine the best approach to completing the task.

Accountability

Both assignment and delegation establish accountability, but in different ways. In assignment, the assignee is directly responsible for completing the task within the given timeframe and meeting the specified requirements. In delegation, while the delegatee is responsible for the task's execution, the delegator retains overall accountability for the outcome.

Task Allocation

Assignment follows a structured approach to task distribution, where the assignor assesses the skills and workload of individuals or teams before making assignments. Delegation, on the other hand, requires the delegator to carefully select the right individuals or teams based on their skills, experience, and availability.

Level of Autonomy

Assignment limits the autonomy of the assignee, as they are expected to follow the instructions and guidelines provided by the assignor. In contrast, delegation grants a higher level of autonomy to the delegatee, allowing them to exercise their judgment, make decisions, and determine the best course of action.

Development and Growth

While assignment focuses on task completion, delegation provides an opportunity for skill development and growth. By delegating tasks, the delegator empowers individuals or teams to take on new challenges, learn new skills, and expand their capabilities.

Collaboration and Teamwork

Assignment primarily focuses on individual tasks, whereas delegation encourages collaboration and teamwork. Delegated tasks often require individuals or teams to work together, share knowledge, and support each other in achieving the common goal.

Assignment and delegation are two distinct approaches to task distribution, each with its own attributes and benefits. Assignment provides control, clear accountability, and a structured approach to task allocation. On the other hand, delegation empowers individuals or teams with autonomy, fosters skill development, and enhances collaboration. The choice between assignment and delegation depends on the nature of the task, the level of control desired, and the development opportunities sought. By understanding the attributes of assignment and delegation, managers and leaders can make informed decisions to optimize task distribution and achieve organizational goals.

Comparisons may contain inaccurate information about people, places, or facts. Please report any issues.

Home / NCLEX-RN Exam / Assignment, Delegation and Supervision: NCLEX-RN

Assignment, Delegation and Supervision: NCLEX-RN

Identifying tasks for delegation based on client needs, the "right task" and the "right person": identifying tasks for delegation based on client needs, ensuring the appropriate education, skills, and experience of personnel performing delegated tasks, assigning and supervising the care provided by others, communicating tasks to be completed and report client concerns immediately, organizing the workload to manage time effectively, utilizing the five rights of delegation, evaluating delegated tasks to ensure the correct completion of the activity or activities, evaluating the ability of staff members to perform the assigned tasks for the position, evaluating the effectiveness of staff members' time management skills.

In this section of the NCLEX-RN examination, you will be expected to demonstrate your knowledge and skills of assignment, delegation, and supervision in order to:

• Identify tasks for delegation based on client needs
• Ensure appropriate education, skills, and experience of personnel performing delegated tasks
• Assign and supervise care provided by others (e.g., LPN/VN, assistive personnel, other RNs)
• Communicate tasks to be completed and report client concerns immediately
• Organize the workload to manage time effectively
• Utilize the five rights of delegation (e.g., right task, right circumstances, right person, right direction or communication, right supervision or feedback)
• Evaluate delegated tasks to ensure correct completion of activity
• Evaluate the ability of staff members to perform assigned tasks for the position (e.g., job description, scope of practice, training, experience)
• Evaluate the effectiveness of staff members' time management skills

The assignment of care to others, including nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, and other registered nurses, is perhaps one of the most important daily decisions that nurses make.

Proper and appropriate assignments facilitate quality care. Improper and inappropriate assignments can lead to poor quality of care, disappointing outcomes of care, the jeopardization of client safety, and even legal consequences.

For example, when a registered nurse delegates aspects of patient care to a licensed practical nurse that are outside of the scope of practice of the licensed practical nurse, the client is in potential physical and/or psychological jeopardy because this delegated task, which is outside of the scope of practice for this licensed practical nurse, is something that this nurse was not prepared and educated to perform. This practice is also illegal and it is considered practicing outside of one's scope of practice when, and if, this licensed practical nurse accepts this assignment. All levels of nursing staff should refused to accept any assignment that is outside of their scope of practice.

• How is the Scope of Practice Determined for a Nurse?
• Scope of Practice vs Scope of Employment
• RN Scope of Practice

Delegation, simply defined, is the transfer of the nurse's responsibility for the performance of a task to another nursing staff member while retaining accountability for the outcome. Responsibility can be delegated. Accountability cannot be delegated. The delegating registered nurse remains accountable for all client care despite the fact that some of these aspects of care can, and are, delegated to others.

Appropriate decisions relating to the successful assignment of care are accurately based on the needs of the patient, the skills of the staff, the staffs' position description or job descriptions, the employing facility's policies and procedures, and legal aspects of care such as the states' legal scopes of practice for nurses, nursing assistants and other members of the nursing team.

The " Five Rights of Delegation " that must be used when assigning care to others are:

• The "right" person
• The "right" task
• The "right" circumstances
• The "right" directions and communication and
• The "right" supervision and evaluation

In other words, the right person must be assigned to the right tasks and jobs under the right circumstances. The nurse who assigns the tasks and jobs must then communicate with and direct the person doing the task or job. The nurse supervises the person and determines whether or not the job was done in the correct, appropriate, safe and competent manner.

The client is the center of care. The needs of the client must be competently met with the knowledge, skills and abilities of the staff to meet these needs. In other words, the nurse who delegates aspects of care to other members of the nursing team must balance the needs of the client with the abilities of those to which the nurse is delegating tasks and aspects of care, among other things such as the scopes of practice and the policies and procedures within the particular healthcare facility.

Some client needs are relatively predictable; and other patient needs are unpredictable as based on the changing status of the client. Some needs require high levels of professional judgment and skill; and other patient needs are somewhat routinized and without the need for high levels of professional judgment and skill. Some client needs are acute, ever changing and/or rarely encountered; and other patient needs are chronic, relatively stable, more predictable, and more frequently encountered.

Based on these characteristics and the total client needs for the group of clients that the registered nurse is responsible and accountable for, the registered nurse determines and analyzes all of the health care needs for a group of clients; the registered nurse delegates care that matches the skills of the person that the nurse is delegating to.

For example, a new admission who is highly unstable should be assigned to a registered nurse; the care of a stable chronically ill patient who is relatively stable and more predictable than a serious ill and unstable acute client can be delegated to the licensed practical nurse; and assistance with the activities of daily living and basic hygiene and comfort care can be assigned and delegated to an unlicensed assistive staff member like a nursing assistant or a patient care technician. Lastly, the care of a client with chest tubes and chest drainage can be delegated to either another registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse, therefore, the registered nurse who is delegating must insure that the nurse is competent to perform this complex task, to monitor the client's response to this treatment, and to insure that the equipment is functioning properly.

The staff members' levels of education, knowledge, past experiences, skills, abilities, and competencies are also evaluated and matched with the needs of all of the patients in the group of patients that will be cared for. Some staff members may possess greater expertise than others. Some, such as new graduates, may not possess the same levels of knowledge, past experiences, skills, abilities, and competencies that more experienced staff members possess. Some may even be more competent in some aspects of client care than other aspects of client care. For example, a licensed practical nurse on the medical surgical floor may have more knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies than a registered nurse in terms of chest tube maintenance and care because they may have, perhaps, had years of prior experience in an intensive care area of another healthcare facility before coming to your nursing care facility.

Delegation should be done according to the differentiated practice for each of the staff members. A patient care technician, a certified nursing assistant, a licensed practical nurse, an associate degree registered nurse and a bachelor's degree registered nurse should not be delegated to the same aspects of nursing care. Based on the basic entry educational preparation differences among these members of the nursing team, care should be assigned according to the level of education of the particular team member.

Also, staff members differ in terms of their knowledge, skills, abilities and competencies. A staff member who has just graduated as a certified nursing assistant and a newly graduated registered nurse cannot be expected to perform patient care tasks at the same level of proficiency, skill and competency as an experienced nursing assistant or registered nurse. It takes time for new graduates to refine the skills that they learned in school.

Validated and documented competencies must also be considered prior to assignment of patient care. No aspect of care can be assigned or delegated to another nursing staff member unless this staff member has documented evidence that they are deemed competent by a registered nurse to do so. For example, a newly hired certified nursing assistant cannot perform bed baths until a supervising registered nurse has observed this certified nursing assistant provide a bed bath and has decided that they are now competent to do this task without direct supervision.

All healthcare facilities and agencies must assess and validate competency before total care or any aspect of care is performed by an individual without the direct supervision of another, regardless of their years of experience. Competency checklists are used to document the competency of the staff; they must be referred to as assignments are made. Care can be delegated to another only when that person is deemed competent to perform the role or task and this competency is documented.

Scopes of practice are also considered prior to the assignment of care. All states have scopes of practice for advanced nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and unlicensed assistive personnel like nursing assistants and patient care technicians.

The job of the registered nurse is far from done after client care has been delegated to members of the nursing team. The delegated care must be followed up on and the staff members have to be supervised as they deliver care. The registered nurse remains responsible for and accountable for the quality, appropriateness, completeness, and timeliness of all of the care that is delivered.

The supervision of the care provided by others includes the monitoring the care, coaching and supporting the staff member who is providing the care, assisting the staff member with priority setting and time management skills, as indicated, educating the staff member about the proper provision of care, as indicated by a knowledge or skills deficit, and also praising and positively reinforcing the staff for a job well done.

Remember, the delegating registered nurse is still responsible and accountable for all of the client care that is delegated to others.

Registered nurses who assign, delegate and/or provide nursing care to clients and groups of clients must report all significant changes that occur in terms of the client and their condition. For example, a significant change in a client's laboratory values requires that the registered nurse report this to the nurse's supervisor and doctor.

They must also communicate and document all tasks that were completed and the client's responses to this treatment. As the old adage says, "If it wasn't documented, it wasn't done."

Time is finite and often the needs of the client are virtually infinite. Time management, organization, and priority setting skills, therefore, are essential to the complete and effective provision of care to an individual client and to a group of clients.

Priorities of care, as previously discussed, are established using a number of methods and frameworks including the ABCs, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the ABCs/MAAUAR method of priority setting.

Some time management techniques, in addition to priority setting, that you may want to consider using to insure that you manage your workload and time effectively include:

• Clarifying your assignment as necessary
• Planning your work in an orderly and systematic manner knowing that priorities and clients' status change frequently
• Avoiding all unnecessary interruptions
• Learning how to say no to others when they ask you for help and you have priority patient needs that would not be addressed if you helped another

As previously discussed, all delegation may be based on the "Five Rights of Delegation" which are:

• The "right" directions and communication

In addition to the supervision of delegated tasks in terms of quality, appropriateness, and timeliness, the registered nurse who has delegated tasks must insure that the assigned activities have been correctly completed.

When assignments are made, the registered nurse must insure that the staff member will have ample time during the shift to complete the assignment and, then, the registered nurse must monitor and measure the staff members' progress toward the completion of assigned tasks throughout the duration of the shift.

This monitoring must be done in an ongoing and continuous manner and not at the end of the shift when it is too late to make corrections.

As previously discussed, staff members should have documented competency for all tasks that are assigned to them. All nursing team members have the responsibility, however, to refuse an assignment if they believe that they cannot do it properly. When this occurs, the registered nurse should either teach the staff member how to perform the task and then document their competency in terms of this assigned task or assign the task to another nursing team member who has documented competency and is sure that they can perform the task in a correct manner.

Part of supervision entails the ongoing evaluation of staff's ability by the registered nurse to perform assigned tasks using direct observations and with indirect observations of patient safety, the quality of the care provided, the appropriateness of care provided, and the timeliness of care provided. For example, the registered nurse can directly observe the performance of the nursing assistant while the client is being transferred from the bed to the chair; and the registered nurse can review the medication administration record to determine if the licensed practical nurse has administered medications in a timely manner which is an example of indirect observation.

The ability of a staff member to perform a specific task is not only based on their competency but it is also based on their:

• Legal scope of practice,
• Documented competency,
• Education and training,
• Past experiences,
• Position description which is also referred to as the job description and
• Healthcare facility specific policies and procedures.

All states throughout our nation have legally legislated scopes of practice for registered professional nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and advanced nursing practice nurses; and they also have legal guidelines related to what an unlicensed, assistive staff member, such as a student nurse technician, patient care aide, patient care technician or nursing assistant, can and cannot legally perform regardless of whether or not the healthcare provider or the delegating nurse believes that they are competent to do.

Although these legal, legislated scopes of practice may vary a little from state to state, they share a lot of commonalities and similarities. For example:

• The scope of practice for the registered nurse will most likely include the legal ability of the registered professional nurse to perform all phases of the nursing process including assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation.
• The scope of practice for the licensed practical or vocational nurse will most likely include the legal ability of this nurse to perform data collection, plan, implement and evaluate care under the direct supervision and guidance of the registered nurse.
• The scope of practice for an advanced practice nurse, such as a nurse practitioner, will most likely include the legal ability of the advanced practice registered professional nurse to perform all phases of the nursing process including assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation in addition to prescribing some medications.

Nurses violate scope of practice statutes, or laws, when they function in roles and aspects of care that are above, beyond and/or not included in their scope of practice. Permanent license revocation may occur when a nurse practices outside of the legally mandated scope of practice. Additionally, licensed nurses who have failed to either reapply for their license or have had it revoked as part of a state disciplinary action cannot and continue to practice nursing are guilty of practicing nursing without a license.

Among the tasks that CANNOT be legally and appropriately delegated to nonprofessional, unlicensed assistive nursing personnel, such as nursing assistants, patient care technicians, and personal care aides, include assessments, nursing diagnosis, establishing expected outcomes, evaluating care and any and all other tasks and aspects of care including but not limited to those that entail sterile technique, critical thinking, professional judgment and professional knowledge.

Some examples of tasks and aspects of care that can be delegated legally to nonprofessional, unlicensed assistive nursing personnel, provided they are competent in these areas, under the direct supervision of the nurse include:

• Assisting the client with their activities of daily living such as ambulation, dressing, grooming, bathing and hygiene
• Measuring and recording fluid intake and output
• Measuring and recording vital signs, height and weight
• The provision of nonpharmacological comfort and pain relief interventions such as establishing and maintaining an environment conducive to comfort and providing the client with a soothing and therapeutic back rub
• Observation and reporting changes in and the current status of the patient’s condition and reactions to care
• The transport of clients and specimens and other errands and tasks such as stocking supplies
• Assistance with transfers, range of motion, feeding, ambulation, and other tasks such as making beds and assisting with bowel and bladder functions

In addition to the legally mandated state scopes of practice, the registered nurse must also insure that the delegated tasks are permissible according to the nursing team members' position description which is also referred to as the job description, and the particular facility's specific policies and procedures relating to client care and who can and who cannot perform certain tasks.

For example, intravenous bolus and push medications may be permissible for only licensed registered nurses in certain areas of the healthcare facility such as the intensive care units; the administration of blood and blood components may be restricted to only registered nurses; and the care of a client who is receiving conscious sedation may be restricted to only a few registered nurses in the particular healthcare facility, according to these job descriptions, policies and procedures.

As previously mentioned, the registered nurse must allot a reasonable amount of time for staff members to complete their assignments when care and tasks are delegated. The staff should be able to complete their assignments within the allocated period of time. When an assignment is not done as expected, the delegating nurse should determine why this has occurred and they must take corrective actions to insure task completion.

One of the things that the delegating nurse will want to consider when an assignment is not completed within the allotted time frame is determining whether or not the staff member is organizing their work and using effective time management skills. If the staff member is not using effective time management skills, the nurse must teach and assist the staff member about better time management and priority setting skills.

RELATED NCLEX-RN MANAGEMENT OF CARE CONTENT:

• Advance Directives
• Assignment, Delegation and Supervision (Currently here)
• Case Management
• Client Rights
• Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Team
• Concepts of Management
• Confidentiality/Information Security
• Continuity of Care
• Establishing Priorities
• Ethical Practice
• Informed Consent
• Information Technology
• Legal Rights and Responsibilities
• Performance Improvement & Risk Management (Quality Improvement)

SEE – Management of Care Practice Test Questions

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