What is delegation?

• Delegation does not refer to the REGULAR responsibilities and authority you assign to someone - that's empowerment.
• Delegation refers to specific projects or aspects of your role that you ask someone to do on your behalf

What should you delegate and to whom? It depends on your purpose - thinking of all the resources at your disposal strategically.

• There are broadly 2 purposes - task and people.
• Who do you need to motivate or develop?
• What critical tasks can best be done by whom?
• If a project comes your way, who is best placed to do it, given availability, required skills and likely completion time?
• Should you delegate menial tasks? Will that motivate or develop your rising stars?
• While it is fine to challenge people, what is the value in throwing someone in at the deep end if you can provide no support, the risk of failure is high and so is the cost?
• It's a matter of matching the task to the needs of the business and the skill level of the team member you are going to ask to handle it.
• If you think of management along the lines of investment, empowerment is akin to longer term investments, i.e. your house, while delegation is the shorter term shifting of investments where they will produce higher yields. Hence, delegation is a strategic management tool - enabling you to invest all resources at your disposal where they will add most value.