Strategies for Delegating Work to Your Team Without Losing Control

Delegating work has many benefits, but you may hesitate because you fear your team won’t deliver on time or meet your standards.

It may also cause you to feel like you’re losing control, especially if you are a new executive or team leader. However, delegating can improve efficiency and help you leverage every employee’s strength if you do it right.

So, how do you delegate correctly to avoid feeling out of control? Continue reading to discover effective strategies.

 

👉 Change Your Mindset

A negative mindset towards delegation will make it difficult to empower your team. Unfortunately, when you’re the only one handling important tasks, you become a bottleneck.

Your team will frequently need to wait for your approval, causing the workload to pile up. You may even miss important details or make mistakes when rushing.

Shifting your mindset about delegating lets you focus on bigger goals while allowing others to step up and thrive. Instead of focusing on the loss of complete control, view it as a way to create a stronger and more capable team. Ask yourself the following questions to move forward:

• What tasks do I hold onto that others can handle?
• Am I micromanaging because I don’t trust my team?
• Do I trust my delegation process?

When you answer such questions, you can start delegating without panicking.

 

👉 Pick the Right Tasks to Delegate

Some assignments require your personal touch, but others might not. If someone on your team can do a task at least 80% as well as you, it’s worth handing off. Even if they may need some guidance initially, they’ll improve over time and free you up for bigger responsibilities.

Some tasks to delegate include:

• Routine, repetitive tasks
• Those that help employees nurture their skills
• Duties that don’t require your direct involvement

Duties like scheduling meetings and answering common emails are vital but also time-consuming. Delegate them to several employees on your team to save time.

Assigning work allows employees to practice skills they may lack. For example, if someone on your team struggles with efficient communication, put them in charge of leading meetings to improve their communication. On the other hand, leave presentations to a worker who needs to build confidence.

By delegating such tasks, you show employees you trust them and value their growth. It also helps you develop a competent team that will improve the success of your projects and vouch for your leadership.

Some tasks may require your full attention, so it’s vital not to delegate them. Keep duties such as:

• High-level decision-making
• Employee performance reviews
• Sensitive and confidential tasks

You can then delegate the following:

• Researching information
• Updating documents
• Tracking project progress

Letting go of tasks that don’t need your input will ultimately make you and your team more productive.

 

👉 Match Tasks With the Right Employee

Have you ever given an employee a task and later realized they weren’t the best fit? Maybe they struggled and delivered poor-quality work or needed constant help.

Assigning tasks to the best employees for the job will help you feel more confident and in control. Before delegating, determine whose experience and skills allow them to do a job better. Prioritize workers who are passionate and interested in the area because they’ll put in more effort.

If, for example, you need a report and one of your team members loves working with data, give the job to them. On the other hand, if an employee is passionate about leading the department one day, put them in charge of a project.

Matching tasks with the best employee will help you run things smoothly and lower the need to step in to fix mistakes.

 

👉 Be Clear When Giving Instructions

Since employees can’t automatically know what you need, you should spell things out so they’ll succeed. Use these tips to ensure your instructions are clear:

• Be specific about what you want
• Set deadlines
• Explain your expectations for success

After giving instructions, ask your employees to repeat what they heard in their own words. Doing so will help you address misunderstandings before mistakes happen.

 

👉 Give Your Team Authority

Delegating won’t work if employees have to check with you before doing anything. Be strategic by giving them the power to make decisions and take ownership of their work.

One way to empower your employees is by informing them they don’t need your approval to make minor changes. Besides, set clear boundaries between their freedom and your authority.

Let them know the decisions they can make independently and those they need to check in with you. Being clear about the boundaries will show you trust their judgment and care about staying in the loop.

 

👉 Check-in Without Micromanaging

There’s a fine line between checking in and hovering over your employees’ shoulders. They may think you don’t trust them if you constantly ask for updates. However, disappearing will also affect their confidence and cause uncertainty about what to do next.

Avoid micromanaging your employees by offering your support without taking over their work. Set regular progress updates based on the milestones you want to meet. You could also check in once daily if the task is urgent or weekly if you have a longer deadline.

During the check, ask how far they are with the work and if they are experiencing any challenges. Further, find out if they need additional resources or help to address unforeseen delays.

 

👉 Provide Feedback

Employees who get fair and helpful feedback will be more confident taking on new tasks. Once they complete an assignment, offer motivating reviews on what they did right. Then, highlight any mistakes or areas you’d like them to improve in the future.

Focus on constructive feedback instead of just mentioning issues without suggesting solutions. It’s also good to encourage questions to make the meeting more of a conversation than a lecture.

 

Be a Better Leader With Strategic Delegation

Delegating will help you create a better team and improve efficiency. Shift your mindset and identify the tasks you can assign to employees based on their abilities and interests.

Additionally, check in with them regularly and provide helpful feedback to help them grow. With these strategies, you can focus on high-level goals without feeling overwhelmed by your workload.