Delegation refers to the transfer of responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another. 

Are you aware that delegation is a vital management skill, of course you are but do you do it effectively?

It is often difficult to delegate.

• It will take longer to explain the task than actually completing it yourself
• You want to feel indispensable 
• You enjoy it so prefer not to ask someone else
• You feel guilty about giving more work to another person
• You lack confidence in the person you need to delegate to
• You believe you are the only one who can do it

It is important to learn and practice delegation and improve the skill of delegation as not delegating can have many negative consequences. This may lead to overload and you prioritising the wrong tasks, and others will miss out on valuable learning and growth opportunities.

You can consider the position of others and delegate to those you are confident they will achieve. This will empower them, boosting morale, and increasing productivity. Then freeing your time to focus on activities that will yield the highest returns.

Consider these to effective delegation

• Know what to delegate
• Play to their strengths and goals
• Define the desired outcome
• Provide the resources
• Ensure communication
• Allow for failure
• Patience
• Feedback
• Credit

We all delegate whether to our supervisees, trainees, colleagues, and children. In order to work effectively we need to delegate appropriately. To enjoy life we can delegate to others. To keep well and keep things manageable we need to learn how to delegate effectively.