case study learning unit 5 effective delegation

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8 Ways Leaders Delegate Successfully

• Deborah Grayson Riegel

Start by picking the right person for the job.

For many leaders, delegating feels like something they know they should do, but don’t do. Senior leaders often struggle with knowing what they can delegate that would actually feel helpful to them, or how to delegate responsibility and not just tasks, or what responsibilities could serve as a learning and growth opportunity for others below them. Before leaders can successfully and effectively delegate, they need to understand their own resistance. Perhaps they’re reluctant to delegate because they don’t want to give up control, or they don’t want to look like they’re slacking. For the senior leader to start delegating and stick with it, he needs to address these feelings, challenge his own assumptions about “what if,” and try small, low-risk delegation experiments to see whether his assumptions are rooted in the truth or in his own desire for safety. Delegating well helps leaders maximize their resources, ensuring that they’re focusing on their highest priorities, developing their team members, and creating a culture where delegation isn’t just expected — it’s embedded in the culture.

In their book, Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People , authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Charles O’Reilly claim that there is mounting evidence that delegating more responsibility for decision making increases productivity, morale, and commitment, all of which impact company culture. A 2015 Gallup study of the entrepreneurial talents of 143 CEOs on the Inc. 500 list showed that companies run by executives who effectively delegate authority grow faster, generate more revenue, and create more jobs.

• Deborah Grayson Riegel is a professional speaker and facilitator, as well as a communication and presentation skills coach. She teaches leadership communication at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and has taught for Wharton Business School, Columbia Business School’s Women in Leadership Program, and Peking University’s International MBA Program. She is the author of Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life and the best-selling Go To Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask for, and Accept Help .

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Delegation in Nursing: How to Build a Stronger Team

5 min read • September, 07 2023

If you want something done right, you need to do it together. As a nurse leader, it can often feel like you have too many tasks on your plate and need more time to complete them all safely and effectively. That's where delegation in nursing comes in.

Keep in mind that delegating tasks isn't the same as assigning them. Assigning a task refers to giving a specific responsibility to a team member with the skill set to accomplish it safely and effectively. Examples include taking vitals, documenting patient information, and administering meds. When nurses assign a task, they're ultimately responsible for its outcome.

So, what is delegation in nursing, and how does it differ? When you delegate a task, you transfer accountability to a qualified team member to safely perform a specific task or activity. A registered nurse may delegate certain functions to a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP), or other licensed healthcare member on the team. That person assumes the authority to make decisions. However, the person who delegated the task is still responsible for the overall process and should offer guidance, support, and an honest assessment of the individual's performance.

Why Is Delegation Important in Nursing?

Registered nurses have many responsibilities. Nursing shortages, technological advances, increasing complexity in patient care, and continuous changes in healthcare have made delegating in nursing essential. This time-management skill can help ensure your patients are safely cared for — and may improve outcomes if used appropriately. Nurturing your delegation skills isn't only useful for you but also for your patients and your staff.

Potential benefits of delegation in nursing include:

• Empowering employees
• Decreasing burnout
• Increasing commitment
• Improving job satisfaction

When you delegate, you show your staff that their talents and contributions are valuable to the team, your patients, and the organization. By trusting them, your employees will likely take on greater responsibilities and be more willing to learn new skills to enhance their professional growth.

Delegating Tasks in Nursing

Delegating requires you to entrust the authority and responsibility of a specific task to other staff members. Before delegating, consider the type of care needed, the circumstances, staff competence, and the functions permitted within each staff member's scope of practice. Effective communication and critical thinking skills are necessary to  determine how and what to delegate .

How to Improve Delegation Skills

Effective delegation is a skill that can take time to master, but it's essential for effective leadership and staff growth. Fortunately, ANA developed  Principles for Delegation by Registered Nurses to Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) . This document provides strategies for RNs to draw from when determining which tasks to delegate.

The  Five Rights of Delegation  Include:

1. Right task Consider which tasks are legally appropriate to delegate and permitted by your organization's policies. Not all tasks can be delegated. If there isn't a designee with the proper skill set, you could open yourself up to mistakes and safety issues. Avoid delegating tasks that:

• Require specific nursing judgment and decision-making skills
• Fall outside the caregiver's scope of practice, the nurse practice act, or state regulations
• Violate the organization's policies and procedures
• Expose private or personal information about co-workers or patients that should not be shared

2. Right circumstance Assess the care complexity of the patient’s needs before delegating the task to ensure appropriate resources, equipment, and supervision are available. For example, if the patient is at high risk for aspiration, a task such as feeding them may not be appropriate to delegate to a UAP.

3. Right person Identify and match the individual who can best complete the job based on ability. Validate their capabilities by determining if they have the knowledge, skills, and time to complete the task. You can evaluate their confidence level by asking if they've encountered problems in the past while performing the job and if they've completed it without supervision.

4. Right supervision The Nursing Practice Act requires you to provide appropriate supervision for all tasks delegated to your team members. Make sure they give you feedback after each job gets completed. Remember, you're responsible for evaluating the outcome of these tasks and overall patient outcomes.

5. Right direction and communication Clear communication is essential to ensure the designated individual understands the delegated task. They need to know what it entails, when it needs to be completed, details regarding documentation, and what the patient's limitations and expected outcomes are. Confirm these factors before allowing the staff member to assume responsibility. Assure them they can complete the delegated task successfully and safely, offer advice and support, and emphasize the opportunity for growth.

Evaluate and Provide Feedback

Once a task has been completed, evaluate the outcome and identify areas for improvement. Share feedback with the team member and acknowledge their achievements while providing constructive feedback.

Effective delegation involves ongoing collaboration, communication, and trust. You can deliver safe, quality care that benefits your staff, patients, and the organization by evaluating outcomes and making necessary adjustments.

Images sourced from Getty Images

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How to Delegate Effectively: 9 Tips for Managers

• 14 Jan 2020

Delegation is a vital management skill . But for some, it’s the hardest to put into practice.

There are several reasons why managers may shy away from delegating work. They might:

• Think it would take longer to explain the task than actually completing it themselves
• Want to feel indispensable to their team by being the keeper of specific knowledge
• Enjoy completing certain projects so prefer not to reassign them
• Feel guilty about adding more work onto another employee’s to-do list
• Lack confidence or trust in who they need to transfer the project to
• Believe that they’re the only ones who can do the job right

Whatever the reason, it’s important to continue honing the skill, as refusing to delegate can have negative consequences. Not only will you overload your schedule and prioritize the wrong tasks, but your employees will miss out on valuable learning and growth opportunities.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Delegation and Why Is It Important?

Delegation refers to the transfer of responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another.

From a management perspective, delegation occurs when a manager assigns specific tasks to their employees. By delegating those tasks to team members, managers free up time to focus on higher-value activities while also keeping employees engaged with greater autonomy.

According to a Gallup study , CEOs who excel in delegating generate 33 percent higher revenue. These executives know they can’t accomplish everything alone and position their team to tackle tasks they’re confident they’ll achieve—in turn empowering employees, boosting morale, and increasing productivity. In the process, CEOs free up their time to focus on activities that will yield the highest returns and grow the company.

Here are nine ways you can start delegating more effectively to cultivate high-performing teams.

9 Delegation Tips for Managers

1. know what to delegate.

Not every task can be delegated. For example, performance reviews or any personnel matters should be handled by you. After all, hiring the right talent and knowing each employee’s strengths and weaknesses will ultimately make you better at assigning deliverables and transferring responsibility to the appropriate team members.

Several other day-to-day activities don’t require your oversight, though. Is there a task you regularly tackle despite knowing your co-worker is better equipped to complete it? Would assigning the project to other employees help bolster their careers? If there’s someone who could do the work better, or you think this could be a teachable moment, delegate. It will show you trust and value your team, while also giving you time to focus on more strategic projects.

2. Play to Your Employees’ Strengths and Goals

Every employee should have goals they’re working toward, and within those goals are opportunities to delegate. For example, maybe you have a direct report who wants to gain management experience. Is there an intern they could start supervising, or a well-defined project they can own the execution of? The type of work you delegate could factor into their professional development plan.

For other tasks, there’s likely someone on your team with the specific skill set needed to achieve the desired result. Leverage that and play to your employees’ strengths. When someone has a higher chance of excelling, they’re more motivated and engaged , which then benefits the entire business.

Related: How to Become a Better Manager

3. Define the Desired Outcome

Simply dumping work onto someone else’s plate isn’t delegating. The projects you hand off should come with proper context and a clear tie into the organization’s goals.

“You’ve got to have real clarity of objective,” says Harvard Business School Professor Kevin Sharer in the online Management Essentials course . That includes having alignment on “what does good look like” and by what timeline, and “the technique of measuring accomplishment.”

Before anyone starts working on a project, they should know what they need to complete and by when, including the metrics you’ll use to measure the success of their work.

4. Provide the Right Resources and Level of Authority

If the person you’re delegating work to needs specific training, resources, or authority to complete the assigned project, it’s your role as a manager to provide all three. Setting someone up for an impossible task will frustrate both sides; your colleague won’t be able to achieve the desired outcome, and then you’ll likely need to put that work back on your to-do list.

This is also where you need to fight the urge to micromanage . Telling your co-worker, step-by-step, how you would accomplish the task and then controlling each part of the process won’t enable them to learn or gain new skills. Focus instead on what the desired end goal is, why the task is important, and help address any gaps between the outcome and their current skill set.

5. Establish a Clear Communication Channel

While you want to avoid micromanaging, you do want to establish a communication channel so that the person you’re delegating to feels comfortable asking questions and providing progress updates.

“You’ve got to have some way to communicate so that the person you delegated to can come back to you and report,” says Sharer in the Management Essentials course . “You’ve got to have some way along the way to see how things are going. It isn’t fire and forget. That is, ‘I just give you the task and I don’t worry about it anymore. We’ve got to have some way to monitor the progress along the way without me getting in your way.’”

Setting up regular check-ins and providing feedback throughout the project can help with this.

6. Allow for Failure

This step is particularly important for the perfectionists who avoid delegating because they think their way is the only way to get the work done. You need to allow for failure—not because your employees might fail, but because it will enable experimentation and empower the people you’re assigning tasks to, to take a new approach.

If you’re open to new ideas and approaches to the work, you’ll have an easier time delegating when able.

7. Be Patient

As a manager, you likely have more years of experience in your field. Because of this, a task you can complete in 30 minutes might take an employee a full hour the first time they complete it.

You might be tempted to refrain from delegating certain tasks knowing that you can get them done faster, but be patient with your employees. Think back to the first time you completed a specific task early on in your career. You probably weren’t as efficient as you are now; your time management skills have improved.

As you continue to delegate and your employees become more familiar with the tasks that need to be completed, you’ll notice that the work will get done faster over time.

Related: 7 Strategies for Improving Your Management Skills

8. Deliver (and Ask For) Feedback

In addition to monitoring progress, you should also deliver feedback to your employees after the tasks you’ve delegated are complete.

If a task wasn’t completed as assigned, don’t be afraid to offer constructive criticism. Your employees can take this feedback and make changes the next time a similar task is assigned. On the other hand, remember to provide positive feedback and show your appreciation when a task was done well.

To ensure you’re delegating effectively, you’ll also want to ask your team for any feedback that they can give you. Ask your employees if you provided clear instructions and determine if there’s anything you can do to better delegate in the future.

9. Give Credit Where It’s Due

After you’ve delegated tasks and they’ve been seen through to completion, credit those who achieved the work.

“Recognizing that success is because of your team is not only right, but it has the added benefit of making those around you more engaged—making you even more successful,” writes HBS Online Executive Director Patrick Mullane for Richtopia. “It’s counter-intuitive, but not claiming success for yourself will lead to more future wins.”

The more you thank and credit those you’ve delegated work to, the more likely it is they will want to help you on other projects in the future.

Honing Your Delegation Skills

Delegating isn’t easy; it’s a skill that must be practiced and honed over time. But the better you become at aligning the right people with the right tasks and responsibilities, the more effective you’ll become at your job as a manager.

Are you interested in further improving your managerial skills? Download our free leadership and management e-book to find out how. Also, explore our eight-week online Management Essentials course , which will provide you with real-world tools and strategies to excel in decision-making, implementation, organizational learning, and change management.

This post was updated on June 2, 2021. It was originally published on January 14, 2020.

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Learning to Delegate: A Mini Case Study

This is the fourth project that Anna has delegated to Amanda and she is starting to feel she would be better off doing it herself! While Amanda is willing to take on additional assignments, she just doesn’t seem to be willing to be responsible for the assignment. She won’t do anything without first checking in with Anna. Today alone she walked into Anna’s office four times to ask these questions:

• “How should I do this?”
• “I can’t reach Jack on the phone and I need to ask him a question. What should I do?”
• “Where can I find the information I need to complete this task?”
• “I contacted Terry but she is on vacation for the next week. What do you want me to do?”

The last time Amanda came in to the office, Anna lost it. She told her to forget what she is doing and she’ll give it to someone else who can handle the assignment. After Amanda left, Anna realized she didn’t handle that well.

Consider also that:

Delegating is not an easy task. As a manager, you can’t delegate the same way to one person who reports to you as you would to another. Some employees will need more guidance to get work done; others may have the skills and experience to move forward with any task delegated to them. In order to delegate effectively it is essential to understand your direct reports – their skills, experiences, goals, capabilities. Without understanding this, it is not possible to effectively delegate assignments.

Back to Anna:

Anna is understandably frustrated; however, the situation really is also partly Anna’s fault. Amanda, of course, does bear some responsibility. In this situation, we want to explore why Amanda feels as if she cannot make any decision without first checking with Anna. Did Anna potentially make it clear early on that she is the ultimate decision-maker? Has Amanda failed before and she is worried about failing again? Is Anna simply delegating assignments that Amanda may not be ready to undertake?

Anna should sit down with Amanda to discuss the situation further and figure out how best to proceed, in collaboration with Amanda. She might apologize to Amanda for how she handled the last encounter, explaining she was frustrated and did not handle it well. She might ask Amanda to help her understand why she feels like she cannot take steps to complete an assignment, making many of the decisions on how to proceed on her own. Through an honest conversation with Amanda, Anna will learn how best to delegate to Amanda. Through a conversation with Amanda, Anna will learn more about her skills and experiences and where her comfort level is; which will enable Anna to more effectively manage assignments delegated.

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Team Decision Making-Case Study and Success Story

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Prepare a list of your core responsibilities, dividing them into the tasks that can be assumed by others and those that aren’t so easy to delegate , such as client relationships, expertise-related functions, and mentorship of direct reports. Be in regular, planned contact with your team . Develop a game plan.

Winning Support for Flexible Work

DECEMBER 1, 2010

Before you make a proposal, be sure to understand the impact your wished-for schedule will have on your boss, your team and your performance. Ask for team input and support. Involving your team can help head off another common concern of bosses. Case Study #1: Creating a unique job share. "One

Stop Procrastinating.Now

OCTOBER 11, 2011

Case study #1: Know why. Lisa also set a long-term reward for herself: when the project is complete she's planning a team dinner. Case study #2: Keep it top of mind. But since she had no one to delegate the project to, she decided to make progress on it in small increments.

Planning Maternity or Paternity Leave: A Professional’s Guide

MAY 29, 2015

Should you check-in with your team while you’re out? “ Team members will realize that if and when they need something, the group will support them, too.” It’s smart to check in with your team too before your official return, says Bailyn. Bailyn recommends bringing your team in on these discussions.

Make Your Work Resolutions Stick

DECEMBER 29, 2014

If, for instance, your goal is to reduce your micro-managerial tendencies, explain to your team that you will be delegating more often. Case study #1: Create a detailed strategy and enlist support. “It was very helpful to have the support team . Two, recruit a topnotch management team .

What to Do When You and Your Boss Aren’t Getting Along

AUGUST 18, 2016

” Is it a sports team ? “You don’t want your boss to think you’re delegating back up or putting the problem back on them,” she says. Case Study #1: Empathize with your manager’s perspective and ask for their guidance. Manzoni suggests talking to manager about topics beyond work.

How to Disagree with Someone More Powerful than You

MARCH 17, 2016

He suggests you first consider “the risks of not speaking up” — perhaps the project will be derailed or you’ll lose the team ’s trust — then realistically weigh those against the potential consequences of taking action. Case Study #1: Show respect for the idea. Decide whether to wait.

Making Sense of Zappos’ War on Managers

MAY 19, 2015

His letter announced a compensation restructuring, which accompanied a dismantling of hierarchy and the introduction of self-managed, self-organizing teams throughout the company. His struggle to transform the Johnsonville Sausage Company into a beacon of enlightened business was chronicled widely and became a best-selling case study .

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