Leading a team
How to delegate work so your team actually owns it
Delegating means handing over not just a task but responsibility and decisions. Say what result you need, by when and why you chose this person, then agree on what comes off their list. Set a time to check progress instead of asking every day.
How to handle this conversation
Describe the result, not every step
“I need a report the board can use to decide on the budget” gives more room than a twenty-point checklist.
Say why this person
For example: “I am asking you because you know this client best and I trust your judgement.” That turns the task from one more chore into a sign of trust.
Take something off their list
When you hear “I do not have time,” do not argue, ask: “Which of your current tasks can we move or hand to someone else?”
Agree on checkpoints
“Let us meet on Thursday for fifteen minutes and look at the first draft.” One agreed date replaces constant checking in.
I delegate a task to an experienced colleague
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Duration
- 8-12 minutes
The situation
You have too much on your plate and want to hand the quarterly client report to the person who knows the client best. Until now you have prepared it yourself, so they have never owned the whole thing. You talk during your weekly one-to-one.
Who you talk to
Experienced specialist on your team
Reliable and loyal, but tired. Asks why it has to be them, says their calendar is full and is a little worried that if something goes wrong, they will take the blame.
The counterpart also has private goals and information that are never shown upfront. You discover them only through the conversation, the same way you would in real life.
What makes it hard
- They say straight away that they have no time.
- They ask whether this is just you offloading your own work.
- They worry about being accountable to the client for the result.
Your goals
- Describe the task, its purpose and the deadline clearly
- Agree on what comes off their current workload
- Set the level of autonomy and the date of the first review
What the report looks at
- Whether the goal and the expected result are clear
- How you respond to the lack-of-time argument
- Whether you hand over real decisions, not just work
- Whether the conversation ends with a concrete plan and a checkpoint