Delegating effectively is not about “dumping the grunt work” on someone else, but rather about ensuring the right people do the right work in service of shared goals.
Delegating effectively is not about “dumping the grunt work” on someone else, but rather about ensuring the right people do the right work in service of shared goals. With this mindset, there are some basic strategies anyone—people leader or not—can use to manage that delegation effectively.
Modern Mentor is hosted by Rachel Cooke. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hey, it’s Rachel Cooke your Modern Mentor and today we are gonna turn you into a master delegator – even if you’re not technically a people leader. So if you have more on your plate than you know what to do with, then hang with me for 10 and let's talk tips on delegating with grace.
As a kid, I was really awesome at a lot of stuff. Better at washing dishes than my brother who was always breaking them, better at vacuuming than my mom who was always tripping over the cord… I know I was great at these things because they’d always tell me so. And then I’d do all the dishwashing and vacuuming.
Wow. Only just realizing I maaayyy have been played. Was there a degree of manipulation in their compliments? Clearly. But—they weren’t wrong. I really was good at those things. And my doing them made sense. It freed up my brother, the schmoozer, to go out and land us free swag. And my mother, the chef, to keep brownies in the oven which kept my friends coming over. We were each doing the thing we did best. And our family was better for it.
It's funny. Today, in my business I teach a workshop on delegation. And I’m realizing how much of what I teach is grounded in the quirky ways of my family. It may sound shady in the retelling, but really my mom and brother were laying the groundwork for what I now understand about delegation.
Often we associate delegation with the idea of dumping the grunt work on a subordinate. But I want to propose it’s something much more like what my mom and my brother did. It’s putting the critical tasks in the right hands so everyone is doing something they’re good at and leveraging the strengths of those around them—all for the greater good.
The good news is my workshop is on the up and up, no manipulation—or vacuuming—required!
Whether you’re a leader or not, let’s talk about steps you can take to delegate more effectively so the best work is done by the best people in the best moments.
Doing this well comes down to 4 key questions. Answer these effectively and you need no leadership authority to delegate.
Delegating well begins with a smart choice on the what. The best things to delegate are generally those that are furthest from the core of your job or role.
My job, for example, is fundamentally to speak, write, teach, coach, and consult. I’d never delegate any of this work because it’s my expression of my personal and professional brand.
So I delegate things like bookkeeping, invoicing, and slide or website design when I have the right people around me to absorb these things. I delegate these because for me, they’re enablers of what I do—but they’re not at the core. And frankly, I’m neither great nor efficient at them.
For a website designer, delegating website design would be a big misstep! Because that’s their personal or professional brand.
So now it’s your turn. Jot down 10 to 15 tasks you typically do throughout the week. What’s closer to your core, and what’s more of an enabler—a supporting cast member?
Maybe you work in marketing and among other things you’re managing a budget. Maybe you’re responsible for a retail store and on your list of to-do’s is creating visual displays. These tasks are likely part of your job. But are they the core? If not, how confident and efficient are you at them? They might be ideal for delegating.
Now just because something is on your delegation wish list doesn’t mean you’ll be able to delegate it.
But let’s take managing budgets or building displays. If you’re more meh than woohoo on these… look around.
Is there someone in finance who has a not-so-secret passion for marketing campaigns? Is there a sales associate on the floor who always wears the cutest outfits… and you suspect they harbor a dream of setting up those displays?
It may take some detective work on your part… but hey—all the more reason to set up some coffee dates and learn more about who loves doing what—who wants opportunity, exposure, and practice at doing a thing that you’re white-knuckling your way through.
While it’s never a guarantee, there’s almost always a “who” to match to your “what.”
OK. Now we’re down to why. This is where your sales pitch comes in. For my mom and brother, they kept it simple. Why me? Because I was so good at this stuff (Hey—I was 8. I really wasn’t so discerning yet).
You may need something a little more compelling.
“Hey, friend of mine in Finance… any chance you’d take on some of this budget management work? I’m just so impressed by how clean and strategic your plans always seem to be and I’d love to see how our customer results might be dialed up with your strategic touch in there!”
“Hey, sales person… you just ooze style. And style is what these displays are all about. I bet our store would perform better if you were choosing which merch to put where!”
OK… am I sounding vaguely like my brother? Maybe. But frankly, he was kinda onto something. It’s OK to stroke someone’s ego—as long as you’re being truthful (like, they really are good at the thing) and you’re willing to be transparent about it. Let them know you’re struggling with something, or just burdened by it, and you’d love their help in taking it on.
The first rule of Delegation Club? Don’t talk about Delegation Club. You never have to use the D-word to strategically hand off to someone else.
Remember my brother the schmoozer and my mom the baker? With them, it was really just a simple exchange. I took on things they hated, but they took on things they were great at in return.
Maybe for you, it’s a simple trade as well. Your finance friend takes on your budget management and you write up his monthly summaries because words are your jam.
But maybe he wants a different exchange. Maybe, for example, he wants an opportunity to get closer to the customer or to brush up his own marketing chops. So invite him to ask for support. Can he sit in on your next pitch meeting as your note taker, just so he feels closer to the action? Or maybe he wants some coaching on his communication, or he’d like a mentor to help him take steps to move one day into a marketing role. And you are that mentor!
Remember, delegating isn’t about offloading. It’s about getting the work into the right hands at the right moment—it’s about leveraging strengths. So what strengths of yours can you offer as value in return, and how might that support your colleague’s goals?