Curated by Jess Britt Consulting

Podcast Episodes

• HBR IdeaCast
  • Why It’s So Hard to Delegate — And How to Improve
    • Key Takeaway:
      • Instead of checking the task off your to do list, check “preparing to delegate” or “delegation conversation” off your to do list instead
• Coaching for Leaders
  • 413: Effective Delegation of Authority, With Hassan Osman
    • Key Takeaway:
      • It’s critical to think through what you need your employee to accomplish before you delegate it. Managers often “brainstorm” delegation tasks, which causes confusion.
  • 485: What Effective Delegation Looks Like, With Michael Byrne
    • Key Takeaway:
      • Episode is a real leader example of the impact of effective delegation in action
  • 117: How to Delegate Work Effectively
    • Key Takeaways:
      • It’s important to make sure you’re not always delegating work to the same high performer.
      • Let the person you delegated to plan the project, then review it together.
• Beyond the To-Do List
  • Wade Foster on Automation, Delegation and Trust
    • Key Takeaways:
      • Rename your “to do list” → “work that need to be done.” This reframe can free you up to think more creatively about how it gets done.
      • Don’t forget technology and automation as part of your delegation plan
• The Reboot Podcast
  • Wisdom for Work #19 - Strategic Delegation: Building Trust & Setting Clear Expectations
    • Key Takeaway:
      • Important to ensure importance of task and readiness of team member are properly calibrated
• Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast
  • Delegation Dilemma—From the Vault
    • Key Takeaway:
      • Don’t underestimate the power and value of delegating early stage parts of a project
• How to Be Awesome at Your Job
  • 573: How to Leverage Your Time by 6000% Through Effective Delegation With Bill Truby
    • Key Takeaway:
      • It’s important to confirm that the person you’re delegating to agrees and commits to completing the task they’ve been delegated
  • 825: The Six Steps of Masterful Delegation With Aaron Schmookler
    • Key Takeaways:
      • Counterintuitively, the task you hate, someone else probably loves.
      • Check-ins are not inherently micromanaging if they are predictable and people have time to make progress in between
  • 956: How to Delegate Anything With Dave Kerpen
    • Key Takeaways:
      • Avoid choosing someone just because they are available or cheap, ensure they are the right person and set up for success
      • Feel your fear of delegation and act courageously anyway
      • Delegation doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing, you can delegate part of a task
• Lead the People
  • #102: Delegate Like a True Leader With Tom Riggs
    • Key Takeaways:
      • Make sure all of your employees are reflected in your delegation plans, otherwise some won’t ever develop skills
      • Leaders often fear overburdening their team, whereas team members are often excited to take on new, more challenging work

Articles

• Why Aren’t I Better at Delegating? by Elsbeth Johnson in HBR - this is the article on which the HBR IdeaCast episode linked above is based
  • Key Takeaway: same as podcast notes above
• **How to Decide Which tasks to Delegate** by Jenny Blake
  • Key Takeaway: Jenny outlines 6 T’s to help you figure out which tasks you can delegate

Books

• Effective Delegation of Authority by Hassan Osman - book took me fewer than 30 minutes to read and gives a solid overview of delegation best practices
  • Key Takeaway:
    • “Delegation is a long-term process that requires a significant investment of time and patience, but always results in a win-win arrangement”

Tools/Resources

• **Delegation Worksheet - The Management Center**
  • I used this myself for years to prepare for delegation as a people leader in a large nonprofit
• Delegation Mastery - MindWire Group landing page
  • This was mentioned and linked in the Lead the People episode above
• Delegation self-assessment
  • Developed by Nancy at Relish Your Role; found in the Helia Collective Library
• Delegating With Intention - Resources from Jess Britt Consulting
  • What to Delegate
  • Who to Delegate to
  • How to Delegate
  • Keeping Things Delegated
  • Fill out this form or reach out to [email protected] to stay updated on new resources