There is a wrong way to delegate. How do you know? If you ever think ‘Gosh, if I want something to be done right, I’d better do it myself.’ Then you know 😀
I am sure you are familiar with the saying ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’
Delegating the wrong way is like expecting someone to know how to fish just because:
They have seen you doing it
They have received fish from you
They ate the fish you brought
They heard you talk about fishing
They know you will reward them for some fishing
If you want the job to be done ‘right’ (i.e. your idea of what right is), then you need to coach your people. Show them:
What good looks like
Set clear expectations
Be as specific as possible
Allow them to figure out the best way for them to get to that output
Check-in with them to see if they need help / if they are off track
And as a bonus: even if they get you a crappy yellyfish at the first attempt 😂, well, at least give them A for effort and coach on how to do better next time.
What are you delegating this week?
(p.s. I know you are thinking this, so I am going to say it: yes there are exceptions, like when you pay someone $$ to do the job you hired them for with the exact experience. Above is for tasks / projects that are new to someone.)