Mastering the Art of Delegation (and Why It’s Essential for Leaders)

Ever feel like you’re trying to do everything at once? You’re not alone! Many leaders struggle with effective delegation, and the consequences of not delegating can be overwhelming—burnout, missed opportunities, and decreased productivity.

In this 2-part blog series, we’ll explore the ins and outs of effective delegation, with practical tips to help you become a more confident and capable delegator.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that delegating is hard.

Delegating tasks is a crucial skill that can shape your success as a leader, yet many of us never learned how to do it effectively in school.

In higher education, particularly in business, management, and leadership courses, delegation is addressed more frequently. It’s been my experience that it’s often something discussed as part of broader conversations related to project management, organization and team dynamics. 

And yet, we often don’t get the chance to truly practice it until we are put in our first management position. Then it’s a crash course!

This is a popular topic that comes up in my Mentor Minutes sessions. Inherently, people know it’s important to delegate but because there are so many nuances in doing it well, it’s easy to fall into the trap thinking it’s easier to do things yourself. Here are some of the basic concepts we start with: 

• How to delegate effectively?
• What tasks should be delegated?
• Who should they be delegated to?
• How can you create the conditions for success?

The good news is that whether you’re stepping into a management role for the first time or you’ve been leading teams for years, there’s always opportunity to learn and improve in this area. The art of delegation is something many work to perfect for many years.

Let’s talk about it!

The Importance of Entrusting Tasks to Others

As managers, delegating is just as much about leading your team successfully as it is about keeping your sanity intact. Earlier on in my career, there were many times I tried to delegate and it didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Learning from those early experiences plus investing in additional resources have helped build more muscle on this skill through the years.

Effective delegation means assigning tasks accordingly based on your team members’ strengths and abilities, and then giving them the support they need to thrive. Think of yourself as the coach of a basketball team—you need to help your players learn the best moments to pass the ball to who’s in the best position to score. When done right, delegation can boost productivity, encourage teamwork, and help your team members develop new skills.

“If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” – John C Maxwell

Delegating also frees you up to focus on bigger strategic goals like launching new innovative programs, building influential relationships, and developing your resources. Imagine being able to focus more on the big picture without being bogged down by the weeds. And even the opportunity to take *gasp* a REAL vacation, not a “workcation.”

Sounds good, right?

But delegation isn’t a one-time task. It requires planning, ongoing communication, feedback, and support. It’s about building trust and creating a culture of accountability. When you delegate effectively, you’re not just offloading tasks; you’re investing in your team’s growth and development. This is the mindset shift that made a big difference for me. It’s easy to avoid delegating if your team is already overloaded but I have come to realize that is a limiting view. Assessing opportunities to offload your team so they can take advantage of new areas of interests and their unique talents is a win-win.

The Key to Being a Good Delegator (and Leader)

Effective delegation comes down to several things—identifying who, what and how to successfully transition tasks. As a manager, you must be able to voice your expectations clearly, provide necessary training and resources, and create the conditions for support and follow through. By holding team members accountable and providing feedback when needed, you help foster a culture of excellence.

Hassan Osman’s useful but very short book (44 pages!), Effective Delegation of Authority, does a great job of breaking out the process of delegation into 3 parts:

What to Delegate?

Not everything makes sense to delegate, so take the time to think through tasks or projects that would be appropriate before you talk to your employee. If something involves sensitive information or requires a certain level of authority, those tasks are best to keep for yourself.

To start, focus on opportunities to delegate small, low-risk tasks that aren’t overly complicated for someone to execute. This builds up confidence (both for you and your team) and sets them up for success to learn something new. Try doing a Time and Energy audit to find simpler tasks that can be passed along with minimal challenges.

Who to Delegate To?

This is where it’s important to know your team members’ unique skills! Identify the skills needed for your upcoming project. Select the most suitable person for the work (i.e. would this work address a growth area or interest they have expressed to you during a Career Conversation? Do they have the availability to take it on? Have other members of the team all had a chance?

For more on how exactly to delegate, be sure to follow along with the next part of this blog series. And if you have tips you have used successfully, I’d love to hear them in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!