How to Delegate Tasks Based on Team Goals

"I'll delegate when I find good people." Translation: "I'll trust them after they prove themselves." Plot twist: They can't prove themselves until you trust them. Break the loop. Delegate to develop. Here's how: 1️⃣ What should you delegate? Everything. Not a joke. You need to design yourself completely out of your old job. Set your sights lower and you'll delegate WAY less than you should. But don't freak out: Responsibly delegating this way will take months. 2️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Your Boss The biggest wild card when delegating: Your boss.  Perfection isn't the target. Command is.  - Must-dos: handled  - Who you're stretching   - Mistakes you anticipate   - How you'll address Remember: You're actually managing your boss. 3️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Yourself  Your team will not do it your way.  So you have a choice: - Waste a ton of time trying to make them you?   - Empower them to creatively do it better?  Remember: 5 people at 80% = 400%. 4️⃣ Triage Your Reality - If you have to hang onto something -> do it.  - If you feel guilty delegating a miserable task -> delete it.  - If you can't delegate them anything -> you have a bigger problem. 5️⃣ Delegate for Your Development  You must create space to grow. Start here:   1) Anything partially delegated -> Completion achieves clarity.  2) Where you add the least value -> Your grind is their growth.  3) The routine -> Ripe for a runbook or automation. 6️⃣ Delegate for Their Development Start with the stretch each employee needs to excel. Easiest place to start: ask them how they want to grow. People usually know. And they'll feel agency over their own mastery. Bonus: Challenge them to find & take that work. Virtuous cycle. 7️⃣ Set Expectations w/ Your Team  Good delegation is more than assigning tasks:  - It's goal-oriented  - It's written down  - It's intentional When you assign "Whys" instead of "Whats", You get Results instead of "Buts". 8️⃣ Climb The Ladder Aim for the step that makes you uncomfortable:     - Steps over Tasks  - Processes over Steps  - Responsibilities over Processes  - Goals over Responsibilities   - Jobs over Goals  Each rung is higher leverage. 9️⃣ Don't Undo Good Work Delegating & walking away - You need to trust. But you also need to verify. - Metrics & surveys are a good starting point. Micromanaging - That's your insecurity, not their effort. - Your new job is to enable, motivate & assess, not step in. ✅ Remember: You're not just delegating tasks. - You're delegating goals. - You're delegating growth. - You're delegating greatness. The best time to start was months ago.  The next best time is today. 🔔 Follow Dave Kline for more posts like this. ♻️ And repost to help those leaders who need to delegate more.

The 4 most important #questions to ask yourself if you are to master #DelegatingWELL 1. Why must I delegate! The simple response is, how #far do you think you can walk carrying a load of 100ks on your head? Not far, right? In the same way, if you want to lead for long and not suffer #burnout, you are going to learn to delegate! 2. What should i delegate? This depends but my usual take is; A) #breaking down the task in order of important duties and this then helps me what I should do as a leader, and what I should delegate to others. Sometimes it’s the most important or #delicate part of the assignment. B) Other times I consider what part of the assignment I know #someone else on the team can do a much better job at. Being a leader means getting the best people to do the best job. Not trying to do everything yourself. C) Sometimes I will consider which part of the assignment aligns with #where I am going in life. I have learnt to concentrate my energy on that which is connected with my destiny. This means there are moments I delegate things that fall outside that path but are in line with another’s destiny. D) Things that will take a lot of my time but bring #less results. Sometimes being busy does not mean being productive. Pick your battles well and let others also put in their weight in certain parts of the assignment. E) There are times I will delegate a task to another team #member because I know it will help them grow. Even though I know it’s something I can do, if I realize it will help someone on the team grow, I will sometimes delegate that task. 3. When should I delegate? I am one for delegating #early! And this is for two reasons: A) it brings others in early enough so you can get the task done #faster and B) it helps spread the effort needed to fulfil the task so you do not# burn out. Do not wait to be overwhelmed before you can think of delegating! As soon as you have a clear picture of the assignment and what has to be done, start thinking who should do what! 4. Who do I make sure delegation brings results Keep a #Bird’sEye on everything. This does not mean uncomfortably peeping over people’s shoulders. Set times to #report back on progress from the person/people you have delegated to. That helps to ensure things do not slip through the cracks and that you keep on track in terms of time. Are these things you usually consider? Which of them stands out for you? Cheers 🥂 to building teams that last and win Jose

“I know I need to delegate more, but some things are too complex to hand off.” Sound familiar? This mindset keeps many founders stuck in the weeds instead of leading strategically. Let me share a practical framework I use with clients: The Delegation Staircase. It transforms overwhelming handoffs into manageable steps: Step 1: Let them shadow you • You do the task while they observe • Debrief afterward to share your thinking process • Build understanding through observation Step 2: They observe and explain • They watch you again • This time, they explain your rationale • They articulate why you made specific decisions, and you provide feedback Step 3: They do, you debrief • They perform the task • You review together • You provide feedback on what you might have done differently Step 4: They take ownership • They handle the task independently • Optional: You give final approval before delivery • Gradually remove the approval step based on competence The key? You don't have to jump straight to full delegation. Each step builds confidence - both yours and theirs. This approach has helped dozens of founders successfully delegate complex tasks, from board presentations to client strategies. What else has helped you delegate complex tasks? Or what other delegation challenges do you have? #StartupLeadership #Delegation #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching

Fred Kofman, author of Conscious Business, has a model for what he calls “clear commitments.” It is my favorite framework for delegating that I’ve ever been trained on. Delegating well requires stating a goal, clarifying expectations about what “good” looks like in areas you care about (e.g., cost, quality, timeline), getting a commitment from the employee, checking in, and holding the employee accountable. The key to exceptional management is to get great at defining the “what” not controlling the "how". As a leader, you need to know how to create alignment, how to clarify what you expect, and how to communicate all of it. The model of "clear commitments" makes that easier. New managers are often afraid that if they set a goal, someone will ignore something important in the process of accomplishing it (ignore quality, ignore cost, etc). That has to be part of defining the “what,” which Fred’s model does a great job of clarifying. You don’t have a commitment if both parties don’t agree to the definition of what good or “done” looks like. One thing I often do as a manager is define the “what” as best as I can upfront, but I also set a check-in point so I can make sure that we’re still aligned. Setting a timeline for a check-in might sound like, “I want us to ship this feature in 2 months. Here are the things I care about. Can you scope what you think needs to be done and come back to me in 2 weeks so we can talk through your approach?” This clarifies that the employee owns the project and you can course-correct if needed. That check in is very different from checking their code every day, asking to see call transcripts, or demanding a detailed weekly list of everything they accomplished. AND it FEELS very different to the person who owns the project. They feel supported and aligned, not mistrusted. You can also state what’s important to you in broad strokes so your employees can watch out for it. I’ll often say, “Let’s deliver this project by this date, and here are two things I want you to keep an eye on. First, I want to manage the cost of XYZ. Second, I’m worried that we’re going to hurt this other product line or initiative, so let’s think about how to prevent that.” The more senior your employees are, the more fuzzy your “what’s” can and should be. Part of being senior is the ability to bring granularity to broad goals, to have judgment about what “good” looks like, and to know when to ask for more clarity. For you as a leader, it’s about ensuring that you have alignment with them instead of demanding that they do it your way.