When you think about how delegating will save you time—how it will free you to focus on your many other tasks—you may be less leery about it. To ensure that things go smoothly, you should:
Set standards. By making your expectations clear to your employees—the quality of the work, the time frame for its completion, and the like—you will increase the chances that the finished work will be satisfactory.
Train your employees to handle the assignment. Spend time up front preparing your employees to handle the task well. Because delegated work is generally task oriented, the training is usually skill based.
Build employee confidence. Employees with previous experience under managers who dislike delegating often are unwilling to take on other assignments. After all, who would want to have someone hovering over the shoulder and criticizing every move made? Because some employees have been burned, you will have to demonstrate that you will give them a fair chance to show what they are capable of doing.
Praise them for previous work and point up their knowledge and skills. Your staff members need to know that you chose them to do a task because of their competence—and, most importantly, because you trust them to do the job well.