Delegating work can get a job done more quickly or it can turn in to a huge pain in the neck. If you are like most people, you have delegated work out to a team at least one time after which you thought to yourself, “That sure would have been easier if I had just done that on my own.” All of us have had times where the idea of teamwork just didn’t pan out, but on the whole, the ability to delegate effectively will still save you a great deal of time and enable you to get more done in the long run.

When you are delegating, think hard about the work you are assigning to people and how it fits their personality. For example, while a young intern who is just happy to have a paying job that is gaining them experience in their field is going to feel very differently about filing than another administrator who has been essentially running her half of the office for 30 years. In this scenario, it makes sense to assign the filing to the intern, then find something for the secretary that demonstrates your recognition of the fact that he or she knows the “in’s and out’s” of the office better than most.

Also, when you delegate think about yourself. If there are projects that you are going to try and micromanage no matter how hard to try to resist, then you should keep those projects. Assigning them to others will just create bad feelings when you are constantly breathing down their necks about their work. You should keep projects that you are sure that you cannot let go of.

Delegating work is a fine line. You have to be fair and you have to also make the best use of everyone’s talents, regardless of what those talents might be. Do your best to explain why you have assigned certain work items in a positive light, emphasizing that you think that the person doing the job will perform extremely well.