Delegation is important for effective leadership, but when you hand off tasks to the wrong person, it can create more problems than it solves.
So how do you decide who to delegate to? It’s not just about offloading work—you need to choose the right person for the right reasons.
In this article, we’ll walk through key factors that will help you make smart delegation decisions. First, though, let’s look at a couple of key elements we need to consider before delegating.
Two key elements to remember:
The first is this: you don’t just throw random tasks at people or just get rid of things you don’t like. Your goal is to make you and your team as effective as you can be.
Second, when you delegate, you should know the purpose behind why you are delegating a certain task, project, outcome, process/role, or problem.
Let’s look at some of the reasons you may delegate tasks to other people.
Reasons you may delegate to someone
Here are some reasons you may delegate to someone:
- It’s outside your role or MITs (Most Important Tasks)
As much as you can, you want to focus on the tasks and projects most important to you in your role. - It aligns with someone else’s role or MITs
You want your people to focus on what’s most important to them as much as possible. - Others are skilled or knowledgeable in that area
If someone is skilled or has experience in a certain area, it may make sense to pass it on to them. - You want to grow others skills and capabilities
Someone may not be skilled at something, but it would be helpful to their current role, future role, etc. if they learned those skills (or it may be something they want to learn and grow into). - You want to test other people’s capabilities
For example, you are thinking about moving someone into a certain role, so you delegate tasks to see how well they do with those tasks. - To increase efficiency (or someone else can do it almost as good as you)
If someone else can do it faster or more efficiently, you may want to pass it to them. At the same time, if someone can do it nearly as well as you (70-80%), it might be worth delegating so you can focus on more high-leverage tasks. - To reduce bottlenecks
You want to keep people from relying on you when other people are capable of doing the work. - To empower ownership
You want to give people a sense of responsibility and engagement - To give people a better understanding
You may want to help people see the bigger picture or certain elements they can’t see without handling a certain type of work themselves.
There are likely other reasons, but these are some of the main ones.
Now let’s look at how to choose whom to delegate to.
How to choose whom to delegate to
First, we should look at some of the considerations we mentioned above:
- Does it fit their role or MITs?
- Does it fit their skills?
- Are you trying to grow someone?
- Are you evaluating their capability or trying to help them understand something?
You also want to look at the task itself:
- How important is the task?
If it’s important, you likely want to give it to someone experienced with it. As Dave Ramsey said in one of his books, you don’t want to give important tasks to unproven people. - How timely is the task?
If it’s due soon, again, you may want someone experienced. If it’s down the road, you could use it to grow. - Is the task an energizer or a drain?
If the task is one that drains and demotivates someone, you likely want to give it to someone else. - Break the project/task into skills:
What skills will the person need? It helps you determine who you might delegate to or what skills someone might need to learn if they don’t have it.
Those are some of the basics to help you decide whom to delegate to. Not everything, of course, fits into the pretty box, though. Sometimes, outside projects may come up, or other situations don’t fit as neatly.
Other considerations when choosing who to delegate to
Here are some other considerations to think about when delegating. Some I would consider basic qualifications (you likely wouldn’t want them on your team if they don’t have these), but they can still be important to consider, depending on the circumstance.
Are they trustworthy and reliable?
Dave Ramsey said in his book Delegation that the two main criteria, two main qualities you want to see if delegating something to someone, are integrity and competency.
If you can’t trust them to follow through or to speak the truth, then you probably don’t want to entrust them with a task (or even have them on your team).
They may be trustworthy in what they say, as in, they tell the truth, but they may not be reliable in their work. You may not want to delegate to them.
With competency, he just means they are proven, which we’ll talk about next.
Are they proven?
In other words, they are reliable and have done a similar project or task multiple times with success. Succeeding one time doesn’t mean you are proven—there are a lot of one-hit wonders.
Of course, if you want to grow people and give them a chance to be proven, that’s also a consideration. However, if it’s an important task, you likely want someone who has proven themselves with a similar task.
Are they humble and open to feedback?
Ego kills. You want someone who is willing to accept and open to feedback, listens to other ideas, and doesn’t push the people they may need to help them away with their arrogance.
However, sometimes giving someone who has an ego a task in which they find they need help can help humble them.
Are they hungry and motivated to do work with excellence?
There are people who are driven and hunger to do great work, and there are people who just try to get by doing the minimum, waiting to be told what to do, etc. You don’t want that second group; you want the first.
Try to find people who are hungry, take initiative, and are driven for excellence.
Are they willing to ask for help, admit mistakes, and bring bad news?
You want someone who will come to you when there’s a mess up, when they need help, or when things aren’t going well. Otherwise, they will try to hide it, keep going the wrong way, or struggle instead of getting the help they need.
You also need to make sure that you create a culture where people feel comfortable doing the above.
Do they take ownership and responsibility for their actions and mistakes?
You want someone who takes ownership of their choices and their results. If something happens, they own it and work to solve it.
If they are someone who blames when mistakes happen, they likely won’t be a good choice.
Do they show good judgment?
This goes with the proven to a degree, but, in general, in their work, interactions, life, and choices they make, do they show good judgment?
Depending on the task you must delegate, that definitely could be a consideration.
Are they a team player, and do they put the team and work over their own personal agenda?
Some people are all about them, their careers, and what they can get out of everything. But a team player puts the team and their mission over their own personal agenda.
Look for a true team player to pass tasks to.
Do they have the other necessary skills to make it happen?
For example, depending on the task, do they have the people skills and soft skills needed to make it happen?
If it requires a lot of typing, do they know how to type well?
Things to consider.
Do they have a growth mindset?
Do they have a growth mindset? Do they embrace challenges and see mistakes and failures as an opportunity to learn?
Or do they have a fixed mindset, where they feel they must protect their image and fear revealing mistakes?
You want someone with a growth mindset.
What’s their workload like? Do they have time?
If someone’s workload is already loaded down, it may not be wise to give them something else unless you take something off their plate (or if they just need help prioritizing better, you help them learn and do that).
Does it fit their goals?
It doesn’t have to fit their goals, but if you give the project/task to someone whose goals align, they will likely have even more ownership within the task.
Who do you delegate to?
Sometimes, it’s easy to know whom to delegate to – it fits their role and MITs, or you know they need to grow in some areas.
Other times, it’s harder. Sometimes nothing seems to fit. In those situations, remember the purpose: are you looking for someone who you know can do it well or are there other considerations?
You will make mistakes. You won’t be perfect, and that’s okay. It’s part of learning.
And don’t forget, you can always outsource as well. If certain tasks don’t fit those on your team, and it’s better for your team to focus on their key areas, it can be wise to seek someone outside for those tasks.
I hope these questions and points help you as you choose who you need to delegate to. For help on knowing what to delegate, make sure to check this article out there.
