Even “Super-You” needs help and support. There is no shame in asking for assistance. Push aside the pride and show respect for the talent that others can bring to the table. And, remember that there is no such thing as a single-handed success: When you include and acknowledge all those in your corner, you propel yourself, your teammates and your supporters to greater heights (John Maxwell).

Whether you run a family or a business, you can’t do everything yourself. This makes delegation important for your health, your business’s productivity, your employees’ fulfilment and ultimately your bottom line. If you don’t delegate, you’ll easily become exhausted or overwhelmed, which will lead to a decline in productivity. The challenge, however, is to see the task accomplished to your standards. You will never know until you try – and it’s worth a try.

Where to start

    • List what needs to be accomplished. Include every task, large or small, that needs to be completed. Large tasks should be broken down into smaller steps. Perhaps the large task is not possible for one employee to accomplish, but several employees can work together on smaller steps to accomplish the larger task.
    • Identify the tasks to delegate. Circle or highlight every task on your list that someone else can do. There will be some tasks that only you can do, but challenge yourself to give away as much as you reasonably can.
    • Identify the tasks that are of the highest importance and the most urgent to accomplish. Put these tasks on the top of your list. Then rank the other tasks according to your timeline.
    • Evaluate your employees. Everyone is good at something but not everyone is good at everything. What your employees are good at and what interests them is a good place to start. Give them the tasks that they will enjoy doing the most and especially the tasks that are within their ability to accomplish.
    • Assignments are based upon the employees’ abilities, the nature of the task and the level of trust you have in your employees. If employees are novices or if the tasks are crucial, you might need to monitor the task closely. Your experienced and trusted employees might be able to carry out the task on their own. By setting goals and following up with evaluation, employees can have the freedom to complete the task and you can have the assurance of knowing that the job is being done to your standards.
    • Train on-the-job. Give others room to learn and grow. While it might take a little extra effort from you at first, training others to execute tasks will ultimately be to your benefit.
    • Don’t shy away from delegating mundane tasks. You may think, “I hate doing that task. I wouldn’t want to give something so trivial to someone else”, but that’s exactly why you should delegate it. What you procrastinate on could be a task someone else will enjoy doing.
    • Communicate your standards. Not every task will be performed to your satisfaction unless you have spent time clarifying your vision and standards with your employees. Delegation is a growing experience for you as well as for your helpers.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about delegating tasks.