Have you ever felt like you need a few more "yous" to tackle everything on your list and stay productive? While cloning is out of the question, having a team means having capable help to handle the burden of a full plate of tasks. Delegating is key — and it's not just about lightening your workload, but empowering your employees to grow. When you delegate, your team isn't just working for you, but thriving alongside you and achieving organizational goals faster.

More often than not, your team will even do a better job than you at the tasks you hand off, because they have more time and different skill sets. But this is the dream vision of delegation, and managers can struggle with letting go of control. So how do we move from an overflowing task list to a world where delegation is a motivational tool for growth?

Delegation is an essential skill for people managers, but it's not something you'll learn in most schooling programs. And like many manager skills, it’s not just what you do that counts, it’s how you do it that makes the difference. To become a better manager, you must improve your delegation skills, and if not prioritized, it can come at a serious cost.

The hidden costs of holding on to too much

If priorities are being neglected and a team isn't experiencing growth, trust and motivation dwindle. When managers feel stressed due to overwhelming workloads, they may be tempted to hold onto tasks and not delegate them to their team members to save them the burden or due to sheer panic (think deer-in-headlights). However, this can lead to hidden costs such as decreased morale, a lack of skill development, and missed opportunities for team members to take on new responsibilities and grow within their roles.

Additionally, managers may burn out and become less effective at their own work, ultimately hindering the success of the entire team. By recognizing the importance of delegation and actively practicing it, managers can avoid these hidden costs and create a more productive and fulfilling work environment for themselves and their team.

Delegation training benefits the entire business

Have your managers undergone formal management training? Organizations must equip their managers with the required skills to delegate work to their teams effectively, or the consequences can be dire.

Without proper training, managers struggle to delegate tasks efficiently, leading to decreased productivity, employee burnout, and ultimately, negative impacts on the organization's overall success. Organizations need to invest in their managers' development and provide them with the tools and resources necessary to effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities. This not only benefits the managers but the entire team and the organization.

Delegation training should focus on teaching managers how to effectively communicate expectations, provide support and resources, and set clear goals and deadlines for their team members. With these skills, managers can delegate tasks in a way that maximizes productivity, promotes employee growth and development, and ultimately contributes to the success of the organization.

Seven guiding principles of delegation for managers

1. Identify tasks that can be delegated, without compromising the quality of work. Managers should assess their workload and determine which tasks are essential for them to complete personally and which tasks can be delegated to team members. When identifying potential tasks to delegate, we suggest considering stakeholder involvement and their level, estimated time to completion, and any consequences, that may come up.

2. Identify the right person for the task by considering the skills, strengths, and interests of your team members to determine who's best suited for each task on the list. This not only ensures that the task will be completed successfully but allows team members to develop new skills and take on new challenges as well.

It's important to note that success isn't always the case when delegating. Managers must be flexible, understanding, and empathetic to those who may, at times, fail on a new task. Embrace a growth mindset and be transparent about failures being okay and what can be done if they occur.

3. Communicate expectations clearly, including the purpose, desired outcome, and any specific requirements or guidelines for the tasks at hand. This ensures that team members understand what's expected of them and can complete the task effectively.

4. Provide the necessary support and resources to complete the task. This may include training, access to information or tools, or guidance throughout the process.

5. Set realistic goals and deadlines to help team members stay on track and prioritize their workload. This will also make it easier to monitor progress and provide feedback if necessary.

6. Trust and empower team members to complete tasks effectively, make decisions, and take ownership of their work. This fosters a sense of autonomy and motivation within the team.

7. Provide feedback and recognize achievements upon completion. This improves performance and shows appreciation for their team effort. Recognizing and celebrating achievements publicly also encourages team members to take on more responsibilities in the future.

Effective delegation may require strong communication, trust, and support from managers, but is well worth the effort to have a better sense of productivity, autonomy, and responsibility for the wider team. As a manager, granting this autonomy and trust to your employees empowers them to take ownership of their tasks, acting as an incentive and motivator.

When employees are trusted with important tasks, it demonstrates that their skills and contributions are valued, fostering a sense of trust and loyalty. This empowerment allows employees to showcase their abilities, develop new skills, and gain confidence in their roles, which in turn, shows successful leadership from the manager. It's an ongoing workflow of professional growth and career advancement, enabling both sides to do more meaningful work, make a larger contribution, and feel valued within the organization.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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Learn how to delegate tasks effectively to empower your team, boost productivity, and achieve organizational goals faster.

Delegation is an essential skill for managers to increase productivity

We recently brought together a panel of L&D experts to discuss the evolving challenges of nurturing effective managers as well as strategies you can use to help your organization's leaders upskill. 

Moderated by Danielle Stewart, Director of Brand Advocacy at Go1, panelists included Lynne McNamee, President and Founder of Lone Armadillo Learning; Deanna Foster, Senior Director of Global Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing; and Shenlee Walker, Director of Learning and Development at Hays. Their conversation covered a wide range of topics, from the role of people managers in driving L&D initiatives to how L&D teams can ensure their leadership programs are successful.  

While the webinar produced many insightful takeaways, we've highlighted just a few below. Take a look, then watch the full webinar for even more insights. 

Takeaway 1: Leaders have a significant impact on L&D

Our panelists all agreed—leadership isn't just a title, and a people manager's role goes far beyond merely overseeing tasks. Managers lead their teams to achieve their goals and create an environment where employees feel motivated, engaged, and valued. 

"Leaders spend a lot of their time at work with their people," Shenlee reflected. "So they set the tone for engagement. They set the tone for culture. They set the tone for how people achieve results." 

Because people leaders set the stage for employees to reach their full potential, they play a key role in shaping learning culture. 

"60% of teams are focused on improving engagement within the workforce through L&D tools, communications, and learning culture," Danielle noted. People managers can use L&D to help them push their teams to be their best and stay motivated in their roles. As a result, leaders who foster a learning culture drive the success of L&D initiatives, which means it's important that we intentionally leverage managers as our L&D advocates. 

Consider engaging new people managers early on by equipping them with the tools and resources they need to help their team take advantage of L&D offerings. Make sure you communicate with people leaders when new learning is available that may be helpful to them or their team. You might also ask managers for their input and establish regular feedback loops where they can weigh in on L&D programs. By keeping people managers engaged in L&D and collaborating with them regularly, you can create a work environment where learning is top of mind. 

Takeaway 2: Leadership development should align with strategic business goals

It's important for L&D to align leadership development programs with the strategic goals of the organization. This alignment helps ensure the relevance and impact of learning programs, which makes them more appealing to both managers and executives. 

According to Deanna, prioritizing learning that aligns with business goals makes good use of managers’ limited free time. 

"There's never a shortage of skills to be developed, but we just can't afford to put more demands on people's time unless there's a direct benefit to the business priorities," Deanna stated. "When we work with our clients, we recommend that they start with the strategic pillars of their organization. What are the capabilities people need to learn to achieve the company's strategic goals?" 

Plus, business alignment is often necessary to get executives on board with new L&D programs and initiatives. 

"Executive buy-in comes from showing how learning is going to impact the business," Deanna said. "What are the executives' performance concerns? Design learning to achieve behavior change related to those concerns. That helps get their advocacy, which is ideally what you want." 

Takeaway 3: Measuring the impact of programs is key to ensuring their success 

Establishing clear measures of success is a vital step in continuing to improve your leadership development programs. According to Shenlee, it's important to identify exactly what success looks like before you launch a new learning program or initiative. If you don't know what you're measuring beforehand, it will be difficult to determine a program’s level of success after it has been launched. 

"Measuring success is multifaceted," Shenlee said. "Asking the questions upfront really can help. Without defining success and determining data points, that's going to be hard to measure." 

It's also important to be specific and pay close attention to details in order to understand what's working, what's not, and why. Lynne suggests asking questions like, what information is being measured? Who is measuring that information? Who is recording the information, and where is it being recorded? "Really just drill down on the technicalities to make sure you're really clear," she advised. 

Not sure what information about your learning program to measure? Take some inspiration from the three areas of impact Deanna’s organization measures: impact on employees, impact on employee behavior, and impact on the business. "We measure engagement—the extent to which people participated in the learning," she explained. "And we collect evidence that learners applied new skills on the job. Impact on the business is measured by our clients to determine just how far learning moved the needle." 

Watch the full webinar to learn how to market a program to people managers, incorporate learning in the flow of work, and keep your learning strategy relevant for the future. 

Upskilling your leaders into better people managers

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

Did you miss our webinar on upskilling people leaders? No problem! We’ve recapped three key takeaways for you.

Webinar recap: Upskilling your leaders into better people managers

Explore key insights on the decline in workplace happiness and effective strategies to enhance employee satisfaction with this infographic packed with jaw-dropping statistics. Learn about the impact of recognition, flexibility, and feeling valued on productivity and engagement.

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Achieving happiness at work is a universal aspiration, yet many workplaces are seeing a downgrade in happiness. So, what do we know and how can we fix this?

The decline in happiness at work and how to fix it

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