This article is based on an article written by Mindtools named Successful Delegation Using the Power of Other People’s Help. MindTools.com is one of the Internet’s most-visited career skills resources. Click here to see analysis.

Today, we dive deeper into the subject of Delegating. To build on the first (2) posts about Delegating, The Number One Reason To Delegate and Why Don’t People Delegate, today’s topic is When to Delegate.

Delegation is a win-win when done appropriately, however that does not mean that you can delegate just anything. To determine when delegation is most appropriate there are five key questions you need to ask yourself:

* Is there someone else who has (or can be given) the necessary information or expertise to complete the task? Essentially is this a task that someone else can do, or is it critical that you do it yourself?

* Does the task provide an opportunity to grow and develop another person’s skills?

* Is this a task that will recur, in a similar form, in the future?

* Do you have enough time to delegate the job effectively? Time must be available for adequate training, for questions and answers, for opportunities to check progress, and for rework if that is necessary.

* Is this a task that I should delegate? Tasks critical for long-term success (for example, recruiting the right people for your team) genuinely do need your attention.

If you can answer “yes” to at least some of the above questions, then it could well be worth delegating this job.

Other factors that contribute to the dependability of a task include:

1. The project’s timelines/deadlines.
* How much time is there available to do the job?
* Is there time to redo the job if it’s not done properly the first time?
* What are the consequences of not completing the job on time?

2. Your expectations or goals for the project or task(s), including:
* How important is it that the results are of the highest possible quality?
* Is an “adequate” result good enough?
* Would a failure be crucial?
* How much would failure impact other things?

That being said, having all these conditions present is no guarantee that the delegated task will be completed successfully either. You also need to consider to whom you will delegate the task and how you will do it.

Can you think of any tasks that you have to do today that you could easily delegate to a Virtual Assistant? and