You’re a Data Engineer and you’re struggling with delegation. What’s the first step to take?

1 Identify the tasks

The first step to take when you want to delegate some of your data engineering tasks is to identify which tasks are suitable for delegation and which ones are not. Generally, you should delegate tasks that are repetitive, low-risk, well-defined, and aligned with the skills and interests of your team members. For example, you could delegate tasks such as data cleaning, validation, documentation, or testing, as long as you provide clear instructions and guidelines. On the other hand, you should not delegate tasks that are critical, high-risk, ambiguous, or require your specific expertise or authority. For example, you should not delegate tasks such as data architecture, security, governance, or stakeholder communication, as these tasks require your strategic vision and decision-making.

2 Clarify the goals

The second step to take when you want to delegate some of your data engineering tasks is to clarify the goals and outcomes of the tasks you want to delegate. You should communicate clearly what you expect from the delegated tasks, why they are important, and how they contribute to the overall data engineering project. You should also define the success criteria and the quality standards for the delegated tasks, and how you will measure and evaluate them. For example, you could use metrics such as accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or performance to assess the quality of the data pipelines or products delivered by your team members.

3 Assign the roles

The third step to take when you want to delegate some of your data engineering tasks is to assign the roles and responsibilities of the team members who will perform the delegated tasks. You should consider the skills, experience, availability, and preferences of your team members, and match them with the tasks that suit them best. You should also consider the level of autonomy and authority that you want to give to your team members, and how much guidance and support they will need from you. For example, you could use a RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) to define the role of each team member in relation to the delegated tasks.

4 Provide the resources

The fourth step to take when you want to delegate some of your data engineering tasks is to provide the resources and tools that your team members will need to complete the delegated tasks. You should ensure that your team members have access to the data sources, platforms, frameworks, libraries, or applications that they will use for the delegated tasks. You should also provide them with the documentation, templates, scripts, or code snippets that will help them follow the best practices and standards for the delegated tasks. For example, you could use a version control system such as Git to share and manage the code for the data pipelines or products that your team members will work on.

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?