“Just delegate more.”
It sounds so simple, doesn’t it?
But when I talk to managers, they don’t usually ask what to delegate. They skip straight to how to do it, along with a list of things they don’t like doing. Sound familiar?
If you want to become a better delegator, don’t gloss over the “what.” Choosing the right work to delegate is the first step toward building a more productive, empowered team and freeing yourself up for more strategic work.
Here’s a simple framework to help you build your own delegation master list. Use these six categories to review your workload and identify opportunities. This list can serve you for months (or years) as you grow your delegation skills.
1. Development Opportunities
Delegate tasks that will help your employees grow. If someone on your team is ready for more, give them a challenge that stretches their skills and prepares them for future roles. This is the most meaningful form of delegation—it builds capability and trust.
2. Low-Impact, Low-Energy Work
Some tasks drain your time and energy without making a meaningful impact. Think: routine paperwork, filing, or administrative cleanup. These might need to get done, but they don’t need to be done by you.
3. Urgent but Not Important
You’ve got a meeting to schedule or supplies to order. These tasks are time-sensitive, but they don’t require your specific expertise. Perfect delegation material.
4. Recurring Tasks
These are the hidden gold mines of delegation. It takes effort up front to transition recurring work, but once delegated well, the return is ongoing. Just be careful. If you delegate something recurring and then pull it back when it doesn’t go perfectly, it can undermine trust. That’s why you might want to start with…
5. Project-Based Tasks
One-off tasks are great for experimenting. They let you test the waters with delegation, help someone build confidence, and give you insight into how they manage responsibility. If that goes well, then they may be ready for recurring tasks or even…
6. Operational Areas
At the highest level, you can delegate entire areas of responsibility. When someone’s ready, give them the autonomy to manage and improve a functional area. This is moving from delegation to leadership development.
By sorting your work through this lens, you’ll create a living backlog of delegate-able tasks to help you match the right work with the right people. Over time, this practice increases productivity, boosts engagement, and builds a stronger team.
And one final note: as you review your list. You might notice that not everything should go to a person. Some of it could and should be automated or delegated to AI. I’ll be covering that in an upcoming post.
If you’re ready to think more strategically about how you lead and manage, I invite you to schedule a free strategy call with me at shiftfocus.com/strategycall.