How effectively do you delegate?

When you let go of fear and embrace the power of delegation you build a future bigger and better than what you could have done by yourself.

To find out how effectively delegate, take the following quiz.

For each of the following statements, record an answer of "True" or "False".

I often feel overwhelmed. I can never keep up.
I put in more hours than others in equivalent roles.
I often find that work has to be revised multiple times to make it right.
I tend to only delegate when I am drowning in work and have little time to support the delegatee.
The majority of the time, I believe I do tasks better myself than if I delegate.
I rarely get to the important stuff.
I find myself working while my team is idle.
I delegate only the projects and responsibilities I don't enjoy, leaving the ones I like for me.
Before I delegate something, I take the time to outline the end result and to communicate what is expected.
I focus on the results, not the approach, allowing delegatees the freedom to use their own methods to accomplish the task.
When I delegate, I always describe what and whom this work benefits and impacts.
If I get back work that does not meet the agreed-upon outcome, I work with the delegatee to discover where the misunderstanding occurred and what we could do differently in the future.
When I delegate, I solicit questions from the delegatee and confirm understanding of what is being delegated.
When I delegate, I always inform stakeholders of the authority being granted to the delegatee.
When I delegate, the delegatee and I agree on how we will check in on progress so we can catch potential problems early.
When I delegate, I make sure to communicate the resources that are available and what support I can provide.
I always recognize people for their efforts, even if their work needs revision.
I avoid delegating to the first person who comes to mind. Instead, I take time to carefully consider who would have the skill and the will for the work.
When I delegate, I carefully communicate the constraints and boundaries of what is being delegated.
Whenever possible, I delegate complete projects, not just individual tasks.

Scoring yourself

Give yourself one point for every time you answered “True” for numbers 1-8.
Give yourself one point for every time you answered “False” for numbers 9-20.

5 or below. You are well on your way to mastering effective delegation skills. You are seizing opportunities to grow your own skills and abilities as well as those of your team. What could you do to move from good to great?
6-14. You are likely missing substantial opportunities to free-up time for your most important work and to build more capability within your team. What belief or assumption about yourself or others might be holding you back from delegating more effectively?
15-20 points. You are at risk of burn-out. You are likely to be under-leveraging the skills of your team and working one or two levels below your pay grade. By learning how to delegate effectively, you can dramatically improve your own and your team’s performance and engagement.

Effective delegation skills are critical to your success as a leader. Going from good to great can have a profound impact on team performance and your readiness for promotion. And, the only thing that stands in the way, is you.