For some managers, delegating comes naturally. They’re busy and they know that their team members can take a huge load off their back by handling less critical, or repetitive tasks.

Then there’s the more common, obsessive-compulsive (read: control freak) managers, who can’t let go of even the most mundane task, even if they know how to delegate.

If you’re in the second category, this article is for you!

Or maybe you’ve had enough, and are now ready to improve your workforce management skills, but don’t know how to delegate. Perfect! You’ll find this post helpful, too.

Here’s My No-Fuss Guide to Delegation for OC’s, Control Freaks and Reluctant Delegators

List Your Super-Easy-a-Kindergartener-can-Do-it Tasks

These tasks should be stupendously easy and low-risk—so easy that you won’t get in trouble if it’s done wrong. If you can’t think of anything, list the five tasks you had to do repeatedly for the past two months. Examples of routine, easy tasks include bookkeeping, data entry, note-taking, and photocopying.

Pick the Most Reliable and Skilled Person on Your Team

Yes, you are going to delegate a super-duper easy task, but you want it done right and one time, right? For that reason, you need the most reliable and skilled person on your team, not just whoever’s available. 

Provide Crystal Clear Instructions and Expectations

Okay, you pay attention to details but whoever you delegate to may not share the same appreciation. To avoid any disappointments, explain exactly what you want to happen—in exquisite detail—if you have to.

Write down your expected outcome or finished product then provide a clear deadline. If the task might take a few hours, schedule follow-up times.  Doing this minimizes any worry on your part, so you can concentrate on your own work, instead of repeatedly passing over your employee’s desk asking, “How’s it going?”

Learning How to Delegate isn’t Limited to Giving Instruction

Don’t forget to explain the reason behind the task. Your star employee may not appreciate getting asked to manually enter data into a spreadsheet, so he might be tempted to wing it. But if you explain the reason behind said task—what the data is used for and why it’s important—then he’ll be more likely to do it well.

Explain the task in Person

Once you have chosen a task and created a clear procedure for doing it, explain everything to the employee you chose in step 2 in person. And if you have to, explain the whole procedure line-by-line so as to minimize the anxiety you feel because of delegating said task.

Give the chosen employee a chance to ask questions. Before wrapping things up, ask him to reiterate the task in his own words to confirm understanding. This is important in learning how to delegate successfully.

Keep Calm and Let it Go –

Because you’re really scared of letting the reins go, I know it’s tempting to hover over said employee, while you’re chanting instructions as he works. Don’t do that. If you want to learn how to delegate successfully, remember that your way of doing things isn’t the only way.

As you improve your workforce management skills, you’ll soon learn that some things, no matter how good you are at doing them, are best delegated to someone else.

Now for all the OCs, control freaks and reluctant delegators out there, now’s your chance! Pick one easy task, and delegate it to someone you trust. Let. It. Go. You can do it.