Effective Delegation

Delegation is one of the most critical skills for any leader or manager to master. The ability to entrust tasks and responsibilities to others on your team allows you to multiply your efforts and accomplish far more than you ever could on your own. However, many leaders struggle with delegation - either failing to delegate enough, or delegating poorly and creating more problems than they solve.

Effective delegation requires striking a delicate balance. You must let go of enough responsibility to empower your team and leverage their skills and capacity. At the same time, you can't simply dump work on people's plates haphazardly. Proper delegation involves carefully selecting which tasks to hand off, clearly communicating expectations, providing the right level of support, and following up appropriately.

When done well, delegation is a force multiplier that allows you to get more done with less effort on your part. It develops your team's skills, frees you to focus on higher priorities, and breeds engagement and accountability. Conversely, poor delegation leads to confusion, drops balls, missed deadlines, reworking, and frustration all around.

The most successful leaders have cracked the code of effective delegation. In our recent Twitter chat with guest host Dave Crysler of The David Crysler Club in Township, Michigan, he guide us as we explored strategies used by expert delegators to empower their teams, drive results, and spend more time working on what really matters.

I [ Ruby R. ] know that our discussion about effective delegation barely scratched the surface but there is so much nuggets of wisdom here shared by different business leaders in our #USAMfgHour family chat. So, I encourage you to explore it deeper.

David kicked off with this question...

What does it mean to delegate effectively?

Effective delegation involves assigning tasks and responsibilities to capable team members, providing them with the necessary tools and support, setting clear expectations, and allowing them to complete the work independently while maintaining open communication for feedback and accountability. As David put it, "Assigning tasks and projects to people on your team, who you've provided the tools and support for, to complete the assigned responsibility and provide feedback to you."

Our participants shared their insights on what effective delegation entails:

Nigel T Packer said, "To pass work onto someone you employed to do the job, are paying well to do it, and not expecting to have to explain how to do it to them. Expecting the job to be done well and efficiently."

Ruby Rusine of Social Success Marketing said, "In our team, it's important to not just assign tasks, but also to understand our teammates' skills and knowledge for each task. The book Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt is a great (!) resource. Highly recommend it to business leaders."

While Dave Meyer said, "When you hand off a task or area of responsibility and the goal/expected outcome are clear, and the taskee has clear understanding of what's required."

Dan Bigger of Glimmer Glass Gifts chimed to say that, “If you are delegating effectively it means things are getting done and you are less stressed!"

According to DCSC Inc. one of our Twitter chat leads, :"If you are delegating effectively it means things are getting done and you are less stressed!"

Anna Scheller responded,"It means to identify tasks and projects which are not in the best interest of the company for you to be doing, determine who is best suited to it, hand it off properly (support, training, etc), and then check back in to ensure the desired outcome is achieved."

Dondi Scumaci weighed in by saying that, "We can delegate to develop confidence and skill. Sometimes we should delegate to the one who needs the exposure or experience, not the one who is experienced and ready."

Why is it difficult to delegate effectively?

Effective delegation involves assigning tasks and responsibilities to capable team members, providing them with the necessary tools, support, and clear expectations, and allowing them to complete the work independently while maintaining open communication for feedback and accountability.

As Dave Crysler put it, "We think we can do everything ourselves and that it’s easier to do that than spending the time and energy on training someone else because you just have to follow up and make sure it’s done right. Here is a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the next couple of questions and that you can reference at any time to help you become an effective delegator."

Anna Scheller of Capri Temporary Housing , "There are a lot of reasons that could go into this...! There's whether or not the person was a fit for the job, if you gave them the appropriate guidance, if you spent more time setting them up for the job than you would have spent doing the job..."

Ruby Rusine said, "Could be that you really don’t know the skill the person has or if the person is overconfident/over-promised about the skills...so there it goes. Delegating tasks is a collaborative team effort."

While Dave Meyer of BizzyWeb - HubSpot Agency Minneapolis , "It's tough to delegate because a lot of time it can take more work to delegate than to do the actual task. The trick is to remember that it only takes more effort the FIRST time if you're delegating correctly."

Dan Bigger of Glimmer Glass Gifts said, "Either they don't have the skills or you didn't give them enough guidance. It's usually the guidance one though."

Nigel T Packer of PELATIS ONLINE LTD said, "Lack of confidence in the individual and a predisposition to control and micromanage everything."

Lastly, the team at DCSC Inc ( Suzan Bostick, Rick Gunnarson and Kirsten Austin ) said, "sometimes it's hard to let go of something you have taken ownership of."

What are the steps to delegate effectively?

According to David Crysler, "Before you can delegate effectively, you must track and analyze your time. Ask yourself:

1. What do I love doing?

2. What are time wasters?

3. What do I hate doing?

You may download free tracking worksheet, here: https:www.//thecrysler.club/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Time-Tracking-Worksheet-rev10.2022.pdf"

Lastly from David Crysler, "Next up is delegating and that is a simple 3-step process:

1. Identify Who

2. Explain and Train

3. Track the Tasks"

For their answers, here’s what our business leaders shared:

Dondi Scumaci said, "I love the steps you have outlined David Crysler. I also like the idea of the journalism approach when delegating. Provide these details: What, why, who, when, were and how (only if necessary)."

Anna Scheller added, "Love the way Dondi Sumaci laid it out: follow the process of who (to do it), when (is it done by), where (in what capacity) and how (the process)!"

Ruby Rusine replied, "Long answer but I truncated it to just these. 1. Identify the right tasks to delegate 2. Choose the right person 3. Clearly define the task and desired outcome."

While Dave Meyer responded, "I'd say the following: - Clarify expectations - Offer context and deliverables - Explain what success looks like - Timeline and Reporting."

Dan Bigger answered, "Then you watch them do it. Then you follow up, follow up, follow up and check their work. I know, we have kids and cats working for us."

Nigel T Packer said, "Create a skills matrix of all people and give the required task to the individual who is best suited to complete the task. Make sure there is another team member there to learn about the process of the task, so they are upskilling as well."

Why do most business leaders struggle when it comes to delegating?

According to Dave Crysler, the most common reasons for challenges in effective delegation are:

1. "You've not explained and trained properly"
2. "You're not tracking the tasks or projects"
3. "You're not practicing"

Dave Meyer offered his insight, "This is super hard for leaders who have "come up through the ranks" - high performers are usually "do-ers" who have the knowledge and skill to complete the requirements of the jobs they manage. It's tough to make the leap to trusting others and scale your effort."

Nigel T Packer raised a valid point, "No one to delegate to?"

Anna Scheller said, "It varies from leader to leader, but the most common challenges we've seen are... 1: Not communicating fully 2: Micromanaging (due to fear of a poor outcome) 3: Ego (believing no one else can do it but them)"

Glimmer Glass Gifts (+ Dan Bigger) replied, "Trust. They don't have any in other people that the person you are delegating to can do it as well as they can do. Which is not always true or they can maybe do it better."

Tracy O St. Clair of Integrated Logistics Services concurred, "I have to say ego. I have seen this many times."

The key challenges in effective delegation seem to revolve around proper training and communication, lack of trust in team members, micromanagement tendencies, and ego or the belief that only the leader can do the task correctly. Overcoming these obstacles requires conscious effort, practice, and a mindset shift towards empowering and developing team members.

And here is the last question.

What is one recurring task you should consider delegating?

Dave Crysler provided a thoughtful perspective, "There is no single right answer, only a right answer for you! When you're starting out and practicing, you can use an Eisenhower matrix to help you identify tasks and projects that fall in the Not Important/Not Urgent or Not Important/Urgent areas."

Ruby Rusine shared her approach, "Tasks that other people can do besides me. I pass that along to the team and with constant guidance. Business planning, development and direction - those go to me."

Ana Scheller offered a lighthearted yet relatable response, "That's hard to say on the fly, we've spent the last few years refining our processes and ensuring everyone is doing what they excel at... But we could definitely do with delegating dinner prep some days!"

Nigel T Packer highlighted the importance of delegating to professionals, "My accountant is the only one that I delegate work to. Regular updates keep me informed."

Dave Meyer provided a practical guideline, "There's a bunch. Anything that's repetitive, that doesn't require my specific expertise or input, or that could scale with help from tech (offers a cautious nod to AI) is a great candidate for delegation."

Tracy O St. Clair summarized the key factors, "Time management, trust, and communication."

The responses underscore that the tasks suitable for delegation vary based on individual circumstances, but repetitive, non-critical tasks that can be handled by others without the leader's direct involvement are often prime candidates. Effective delegation requires careful consideration, prioritization, and establishing trust and clear communication with team members.

This is where the chat discussion ended.

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This weekly gathering connects professionals and advocates from the U.S. manufacturing sector, fostering a growing network of collaboration and idea exchange. It brings together individuals from diverse businesses who share a common goal of supporting and promoting American manufacturing. If you're interested in learning more or getting involved, please contact Kirsten Austin of DCSC Inc. , Whitney Koch of Keystone Click Ruby R. of Social Success Marketing . Despite our varied business backgrounds, we unite our efforts to advance this vital industry. You can visit this website if you want of find out more about hosting: https://www.socialsuccessmarketing.com/b2b-resources/twitter-chat-host-for-usamfghour-bldgrechat-what-you-need-to-know/.

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