What do you do if you're struggling to delegate effectively in your Training career?

1 Assess your workload

The first step to delegating effectively is to assess your own workload and identify which tasks you can delegate and which ones you need to keep. A useful tool for this is the Eisenhower matrix, which helps you prioritize your tasks based on urgency and importance. You can use this matrix to categorize your tasks into four quadrants: do, decide, delegate, and delete. The tasks that fall into the delegate quadrant are the ones that are not urgent or important for you, but can be done by someone else.

2 Choose the right person

The next step is to choose the right person to delegate the task to. This means considering their skills, experience, availability, and motivation. You want to delegate to someone who has the competence and confidence to complete the task, but also the opportunity and interest to learn from it. You also want to avoid overloading or underutilizing anyone on your team. A good way to find the right person is to ask for volunteers, solicit feedback, or use a skills matrix.

4 Empower and trust

After you have communicated the task, you need to empower and trust the person to do it. This means giving them the autonomy and authority to make decisions, solve problems, and take risks. You also need to avoid micromanaging, interfering, or taking over the task. Instead, you should offer your support, encouragement, and recognition. You should also be open to different approaches and outcomes, and respect the person's learning style and pace.

5 Monitor and review

While you should empower and trust the person to do the task, you should also monitor and review their performance and results. This means checking in regularly, but not too frequently, to see how they are doing, what challenges they are facing, and what help they need. You should also provide constructive feedback, praise, and suggestions for improvement. You should also review the final outcome of the task, and celebrate the achievements and lessons learned.

6 Learn and improve

The final step to delegating effectively is to learn and improve from the experience. This means reflecting on what went well and what didn't, and how you can improve your delegation skills in the future. You should also ask for feedback from the person you delegated the task to, and listen to their opinions and suggestions. You should also identify any gaps or needs in your team's skills or resources, and plan how to address them.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?