How to delegate a task: a practical handover guide

To delegate a task, agree on the outcome, scope, deadline, decision-making authority and review process. Check that the person has time and materials, then ask them to describe the next step. The guide below covers one handover and includes a fictional example of a short assignment.

Choose a bounded result

Start with work whose completion you can recognise. “Handle the research” leaves many possibilities open. “Collect the questions we need to clarify before the meeting” gives you something concrete to discuss. If the purpose of the handover is unclear, first identify the benefit you expect from delegation.

State what the assignment excludes. Preparing a draft email and sending it to the recipient are separate actions. The person doing the work needs to know where their authority ends.

Discuss the conditions with the recipient

Ask about experience, existing commitments, access to materials and questions about the task. UC Berkeley's guidance recommends finding out what employees already know, explaining the purpose and making responsibilities and authority clear. Preparing employees for delegation.

If the assignment joins an already full schedule, agree on the priority change. “It will not take long” is no substitute for discussing scope. If practice is needed, allow a learning stage and support rather than assigning the complete result without preparation.

Write a short assignment

The following fictional example concerns an internal meeting. Choose dates and scope that fit your own situation.

Draft the launch meeting agenda: participants' questions, decisions we need to make and links to the source materials. Use the notes in the project folder. You may combine repeated questions, but you cannot change the launch date. Share the draft by 15:00 on Tuesday; the meeting is planned for Thursday. I will send the invitation after reviewing it. If you cannot access a source, flag it in a comment on the task.

Check whether your own assignment explains the required result, sources, permitted decisions, review time and response to an obstacle. For other situations, see our delegation examples for a report, a meeting and a help page.

If people understand autonomy differently, discuss how decisions and participation are distributed. Consulting a manager, choosing jointly and deciding independently require different agreements.

Check understanding and the first step

Ask the person to describe where they will start and what they will show you. This checks the clarity of the agreement. If they describe a different scope, resolve the difference before work begins.

• Both people understand the same result
• The materials are accessible and permitted for this work
• Decisions needing approval are clear
• The deadline accounts for other commitments
• There is a way to report an obstacle

Keep the assignment and discussion somewhere both people can find them. A simple connection between tasks and working materials is enough; one handover does not require a new service.

Agree on a review during the work

Choose a point when a significant misunderstanding can still be corrected. For an agenda, this means reviewing the draft before the invitation goes out. A longer project may need separate reviews before dependent stages. Let the task determine the frequency, rather than a desire to observe every action.

If delivery is delayed, establish why before taking the work back. An inaccessible file, a changed request and a missing skill need different responses. Our guide to barriers to delegation explores those situations.

Review the result and close the agreement

Compare the work with the original criteria. Distinguish necessary corrections from your preference for doing things differently. Acknowledge the person's specific contribution and confirm completion, or record the remaining action and deadline.

Finally, ask what would have helped to explain earlier. Save a useful clarification for the next handover. This lets you improve the process through actual difficulties without promising yourself or the team a working life free from every error or strain.