Why delegation matters and how to assess its benefits

Delegation is useful when someone else can take on part of the work and the decisions it needs, with a clear outcome and support. It can give an employee practical experience and leave a manager able to focus on other responsibilities. First, account for the whole team's workload and the effort needed to prepare the handover.

Identify why you are handing over the task

Go beyond “I want less on my plate.” Name the work and what should change after the handover. A coordinator might prepare a meeting independently, for example, while the manager uses that time to agree on the next stage of a project.

The Center for Creative Leadership connects delegation with employee development and opportunities to make decisions closer to the task. It also involves providing authority, resources and support. CCL's guidance on delegation. These are management recommendations; assess the effects of a particular handover in your own setting.

Consider the benefit for both people

The following are illustrative possibilities, not guaranteed outcomes. Discuss what the recipient gains and how the assignment differs from simply adding to their workload.

A learning assignment needs room for questions. Giving someone unfamiliar work with the same deadline and no help does not by itself create a development opportunity. Our guide to being a helpful mentor can help you consider the support needed.

Account for the effort of handing over

The first attempt may need an example, access to materials and a joint review. Compare the whole team's work: preparation, delivery, waiting and corrections. Looking only at a manager's time can hide a colleague's increased workload.

Imagine a manager handing over a weekly summary. In the first cycle, they explain the sources and check the calculations with the employee. Afterwards, they can discuss which actions have transferred and where their involvement is still needed. This is a fictional assessment example, not a benchmark for time savings.

Decide whether the task is suitable now

Check whether someone has the necessary preparation or can acquire it, whether there is enough time and whether the handover fits organisational rules. Identify decisions that remain with you. A job title or assignment in an app does not automatically provide missing access.

If the team is already overloaded, first reconsider scope, priorities or the deadline. If you cannot yet explain the result you need, define it before the handover. For complicated work, distinguish the project from the specific task.

When the assignment connects several contributors, check the shared working arrangements of the team. One task may be clear while dates, access or the outputs of neighbouring tasks remain uncoordinated.

Review one completed cycle

Choose a bounded task and agree on the outcome. Once it is finished, discuss quality, effort, open questions and both people's workload. One successful handover does not establish that every similar process should work the same way.

Use our step-by-step task handover and compare it with the worked delegation examples. If work keeps coming back to you, first examine the barriers to delegation, then adjust the process.