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Management
How to Delegate Work So It Actually Gets Done
If you’ve ever found it difficult to get the results you want from other people, try this simple management technique
Like many founders, when I started my first business, I was new to managing people. I loved getting stuff done and getting my hands dirty, so the idea of delegating work to others was unnatural. I’d always rather do it myself.
When I did have to delegate, it often left me feeling frustrated. I’d find out later that the work hadn’t turned out as I’d expected, or it wasn’t even close to completion. I took it personally, and it weighed on my mind. I felt that if I wanted something done right, I had to do it myself. And as my workload increased, I rapidly approached burnout.
The problem with my approach
A few years ago, I realized I had been delegating all wrong. At the time, I had been in the process of hiring a senior marketer and had asked our office manager to research recruiting agencies, get in touch with each of them, and report back to me.
A couple of days later, the office manager gave me an update: He’d emailed several agencies, but most of them hadn’t responded. My heart sank. This didn’t help me one bit.
“Did you follow up with a phone call?” I asked.
“Sorry,” he replied. “I’ve only got limited time available. I just have too many other priorities.”
Later, I reflected on this situation with a mentor. The manager had done what I’d told him to do. Yet, here I was, frustrated and knowing that somehow the way I delegated wasn’t working out for me. My mentor then gave me some wise advice that has totally changed the way I assign projects.
Delegate problems, not tasks
When you’re in execution mode, you naturally think in terms of critical tasks, but good delegation requires you to think in terms of outcomes. I realized that the problem of filling my calendar with qualified candidates hadn’t been explicitly delegated — just the task of contacting recruiters. But if that specific problem had been assigned to be solved, I could’ve been on my way to…
