Topic of the day
Delegation without Authority
Plan > Focus > Execute
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Delegation without Authority
We all know the importance of time management and making sure we focus on the right tasks. One key strategy that consistently emerges is delegation.
At its core, delegation means passing tasks or responsibilities to others.
On the face of things, this seems obvious and makes a lot of sense. If I have 15 tasks and I can re-assign 10 of them, then I’ll be much more focused on the remaining work.
For some people this works well:
- If you’re the manager of a team then part of your job is assigning work and ensuring the right people are doing it.
- If you are the founder of a small business or a freelancer, you might have a virtual assistant who you can delegate tasks to.
But that leaves a lot of us who can’t do it so easily.
We're often told to delegate to free up our time, but what happens when you don't have a team to command?
For many of us, delegation can feel like a luxury, not a reality.
Today, I’m going to focus on how you can effectively delegate without direct authority. Delegation doesn’t have to be reserved for managers. When done correctly, you’ll be able to engage others, develop strategic business relationships, and become more effective.
The first step is to identify which tasks you can delegate. The Eisenhower Matrix (here’s a good article if you’re new to it) gives us a way of prioritising tasks into important/urgent categories.
The remaining tasks that are considered “not important” are good candidates for delegation or ignoring all-together.
Some important things to consider:
- You shouldn’t try to delegate tasks that have been assigned to you or are your direct responsibility. This could create the perception that you’re “work shy” or don’t understand your role. Evaluate these tasks as “important”.
- Beware of trying to hand off too many tasks. When you’re part of a team this could be perceived negatively by your colleagues.
- Use common sense. There are some small, trivial tasks that we all have to do in the corporate world. Despite the best advice, consider what is practical (e.g. you won’t be able to ask a colleague to complete your expense report!)
Now you know what tasks you’d like to delegate. How do you go about it?
There are 3 ways you can do this. I’ve found all of these to be effective:
1 - Find someone who has better experience, is more interested, or is more skilled than to do the work.
For example: your colleague might have worked with a customer in a specific industry before that you don’t have experience with.
Rather than “delegating” the task to them, position this as a chance to collaborate and work together.
2 - Look for someone who is trying to grow their experience or learn new skills.
For example: a colleague might want to practice their public speaking skills and could take responsibility for a presentation.
This is the opposite of point (1) but a great chance to help colleagues learn and develop their skills. You can position this as informal mentoring.
3 - Find a “quid pro quo” opportunity. Working in a team is about give and take. If another colleague is looking to also delegate tasks, explore opportunities to trade.
For example: you might have a reputation for making great powerpoint slides, perhaps you can edit and improve a colleague's slides if they help you complete a report.
Working with others like this requires you to engage the team and understand where others have strengths and weaknesses.
As always there are some things people get wrong about delegation. Here is what I’ve learned:
- You have to get comfortable with the fear of losing control. At first, you might be worried that trusting others to do the job might mean it won’t be done to the right standard. Learn to trust others and also set the right criteria for success at the start.
- Delegation is effectively asking others for help. Sometimes this can feel like a sign of weakness. Reframe this as a chance to collaborate and learn strategic thinking. Helping everyone understand the best way to get things done.
- It gets easier the more you do it! As with many things, delegation takes some practice and you won’t get it right every time. Understand that this is a skill you’re developing.
Hopefully by now, you can recognise that there are a number of benefits to delegating aside from reducing your own workload and being more efficient:
- You’ll develop strong professional relationships with your colleagues.
- You can learn new skills and get new insights from others.
- You will become recognised as a “team player”.
Here’s a final thought: Delegation, when done right, is not about offloading work; it's about creating opportunities for shared learning and growth.
I hope this tips help and as always, get in touch if I you have any questions.
Did you enjoy this issue? If you think someone else might benefit please consider sharing it with them. Also, if you have any comments or questions then I’d love to hear from you. Either email me or send a DM on LinkedIn.
Thank you for subscribing, have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week.
Mike
