Why Delegate? - What to Delegate & How to Delegate? talks about the importance of delegation in business. For more business advice visit: www.pathway2grow.co.uk or call: 0121 707 0550 or e-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk for more information about our leadership, management and coaching courses.

1. Why delegate?
What to delegate & how to delegate?

2. For small business owners and managers of teams,
delegation is probably the single most important thing in
order to grow your business.
Why?
Because delegation allows you to focus on the things that
only you can do, and allows the business and the people
within the business to grow. Without delegation, your
business and your team cannot grow.
However, for many people this is incredibly hard to do.

3. Some common phrases you hear when talking about dedication:
•‘It takes longer to delegate than to do it myself’ or
•‘They don’t do it the right way’.
In the main, these phrases stem from a few common areas of
discomfort, in the main it is the idea that no one else can do it as
well as you do.
For many tasks within your business or your team, this is unlikely
to be true, and without delegating them away you are stifling
the growth of your business and the team members.

4. What is delegation?
Delegation is the practice of passing tasks and/or
responsibility to employees of team members. Sounds
simple. However, it is useful at this stage to be clear on
what delegation is not.
Delegation is not handing the job over and walking away,
but a considered approach to increasing productivity and
capacity in your team, by ensuring that as the leader you
are focussed on the most valuable tasks that only you can
do, and that your team are developing by fulfilling tasks
which you were previously completing.

5. It is not abdication of the
jobs, but rather a staged
approach to passing a job
over to a team member
or employee so that they
can complete it and so
that you can focus on
higher value tasks.
What is delegation?

6. Employee Morale:
Delegating tasks to employees and team members in the right
way, shows that you trust them and means that they can see a
career progression path for them. It is a way of showing that
good performance brings increased responsibility and the
opportunity for growth. On the flip side, if we don’t delegate
staff who want to develop and demonstrate their talents will
have their morale eroded by a lack of opportunity.
What are the benefits of delegation?

7. Focus on High Value Tasks:
It is very easy for many business owners or team leaders to
get bogged down in day to day small items, which put
pressure on you. However, the tasks which have most impact
on your business are those which you have to be pro-active
about. Delegating less valuable tasks, allows you as a team
leader to spend more time on the key activities that will help
your business grow.
What are the benefits of delegation?

8. What are the benefits of delegation?
Work-life Balance:
Many leaders and business owners are dominated by their
business, and often let key tasks and areas of the business
slip because they are unwilling to delegate.
Delegation allows managers to get their life back.

9. Company Productivity Increased:
If as an owner or manager there are tasks which are not being
done because you are holding onto them, even though you
don’t have the time to do them then your company is not
progressing at the rate it should. By delegating tasks to staff
you will see more getting done, and therefore the ability for
your company to produce will increase.

10. How do I Identify Tasks for Delegation
When looking at the tasks we want to delegate, we can do this
in two different ways. The first is to look at the value of the task
(i.e. how much money it makes for your business) and then the
time it takes.
HighLowValue
Don’t Delegate Consider Delegating
Delegate First Delegate/Stop Doing
Low HighTime

11. The second method is to consider enjoyment, so this time
we will look at Fun and skill and compare the two things.
They are different, although often they are linked!
HighLowfun
Consider Delegating Don’t Delegate
Delegate First Delegate Next
Low HighSkill
How do I Identify Tasks for Delegation

12. These two models, give a method for choosing which
tasks should be prioritised.
Remember to consider which tasks you delegate, not
just for your own benefit but also things which you team
members will be good at and which will drive them and
their motivation forward.

13. 1. Pick the right person:
This isn’t usually the person who has the most time on their
hands, but rather the person who is most likely to deliver and
who you believe has the right skills. It’s also important to
consider the type of jobs this person likes doing. You’re much
more likely to get a good result from delegation if the person is
inclined to enjoy the task.
So, I’ve decided which tasks I want
to delegate, how do I do it?

14. So, I’ve decided which tasks I want
to delegate, how do I do it?
2. Trust the Person:
Once you’ve delegated the task clearly and with goal in
mind, you have to trust them to do it. Your method or way
isn’t always correct or the best (even if we think it is) and
so let them do the task their way, as long as they get the
right quality and result.
3. Train staff:
Expecting staff to just ‘now what to do’ is a bit like sitting a
4 year old in a car and saying, ‘go on then drive’! It isn’t
likely to work, and so we need to take time to teach and
train staff.

15. So, I’ve decided which tasks I want
to delegate, how do I do it?
4. Set the task out clearly:
Explain the reason for the task, what it is that needs doing,
and the key steps in the process to get the job done.
5. Set a task completion date and milestones for review:
This is particularly important when we first delegate, but by
giving not only a completion date, but also opportunities for
‘check backs’ during the task we can catch any issues early
and ensure we get a successful result.

16. 6. Thank them!:
Easy to do but often forgotten. Thank people for a job well
done, it makes a big difference and will improve attitude when
you are delegating further tasks.
7. Give responsibility, not just a task:
Once you know a task can be done, you need to hand over
responsibility for this task being done and completed, passing
this key job to a team member and only checking back every so
often. Without this, you will get the job back, and you will
spend more time on this than doing the job in the first place.
So, I’ve decided which tasks I want
to delegate, how do I do it?

17. The stages or levels of delegation
As discussed above, the goal for delegating a task is to pass the
responsibility for that task over to the chosen person.
Clearly, you aren’t going to do that straight away, so we need
to do this in stages or levels.
Level 1 - Prescriptive:
You explain the task, let the person know how it should be
done, check back during the task and then ask to see finished
version before it is implemented.

18. Level 2 – Engagement:
You explain the task, you ask the person for their view on how
they would complete the task. If they confidently get that
right, you let them go and complete the task and show it to
you once it’s completed. Let them know you are an advisor if
required. This stage is about building the confidence of both
parties, so encourage them to be independent.
The stages or levels of delegation

19. Level 3 – Objectives:
This time you let them know the objective, (outcome you’re
looking for) and ask them to work out the best way to achieve
the goal. Remind them you are still available as an advisor at
the beginning to help. When they have done this well several
times, then you are ready to hand the task over as their
responsibility.
The stages or levels of delegation

20. Level 4 – Watch:
Now you have passed the task over as their responsibility, you
let them get on with it, remember to acknowledge when they
have done a good job, and only step in if something changes
or a problem occurs. Whatever you do, don’t take the job
back!
The stages or levels of delegation

21. For more information please:
Call: 0121 707 0550
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk
For more business advice visit:
www.pathway2grow.co.uk/blog
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