Delegation’s Not for Amateurs

Profile Picture of Post's Author Matt Heemstra | Posted September 1, 2021

“Delegating work works, provided the one delegating works, too.” – Robert Half

I don’t know anybody who isn’t busy. I can’t remember the last time I heard someone, especially a person in a position of leadership, say something about how they just don’t have enough to do. And whenever people have lots to do, or feel like they’re too busy, they start to talk about how they need to delegate more.

That’s a great idea, but there are a few things to keep in mind that most leaders don’t think about. First, “delegation” and “dumping” aren’t the same thing. If all you’re doing is making a list of things that are no fun that you hate doing, and then making somebody else do it, that’s not really delegating. Delegating is as much about the other person as it is about you.

When you’re delegating work to someone, it should be purposeful. Who is the best person to do this task? Who in your organization might really learn or develop by having the chance to do this? If employee X wants to progress in their career with your company, what skills do they need, and what could you delegate to help them along? Delegation needs to be just as much about the person you’re delegating to as it is about you.

The second thing to keep in mind is that just about everyone you might delegate to already has a full-time job. They don’t have ten free hours a week to do more stuff. So you need to figure out how to clear some of their schedules before you just send more work their way. They need to be involved in that, because chances are, they’ll have to delegate something too.

The last thing to remember is that just because you’re doing something doesn’t mean it needs to be done. It’s possible that rather than delegate something to someone else, that task should just leave your company’s universe altogether. Don’t make somebody else do something just because you’ve always done it that way.

For any business to function at a high level, you have to have the right people doing the right work. Make sure when you’re deciding what that means that you’re really thinking about what’s best for the organization and its people, and not just about how you can leave the office a little earlier. Delegation is part of that, and when done purposefully and well, can help transform who you are into who you should be.

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