How to Answer: How do you effectively delegate tasks to your employees?
6. How do you effectively delegate tasks to your employees?
How to Answer
Proper delegation is an important aspect of being an effective manager and leading a productive team. The interviewer wants to know more about your delegation style and how you choose which of your team members are responsible for which tasks. Talk to the interviewer about your ability to empower your team and correctly delegate tasks.
Answer Example
"To delegate tasks effectively, I first need to understand the knowledge and skills that each team member already possesses. I will always delegate to a person's strength and knowledge because it improves the use of resources and often reduces the time spent reaching the end goal. This delegation approach eliminates task resistance while promoting an effective and productive workplace."
Admin
"As a highly experienced Executive Assistant, most of my delegation comes in the form of training new EA's and other administrators. Recently, I spent time delegating to the new Executive Assistant to the VP. She is newer to her career and has not caught her footing quite yet. I want her to succeed, so I give her step-by-step instructions on what needs to happen next. She has greatly appreciated the help so far."
Manager
"Successful delegation is critical to our team-based results. I tap into my team's resources by discovering each employee's strengths and career aspirations. Then, I assign work that will complement these strengths. I will change these tasks around, so everyone has a fair workload and the ability to round out their skills and experience."
Marketing
"I would like to say that, for the most part, my team runs like a well-oiled machine, and I rarely need to delegate. When we take on a new project, we all gather, storyboard our ideas, and then plan for smooth execution of that plan. Everyone takes on the tasks they feel they are the strongest. At that point, should there be any remaining tasks, I will then delegate them to the people I feel would do the best job."
Retail
"In retail, there are some unglamorous responsibilities that many associates try to avoid, such as cleaning out the fitting rooms, but we all have to take our turn and pitch in. Everyone should be well-rounded in their tasks and abilities. I make sure that everyone gets assigned a variety of tasks each week. Everyone wants to be on the sales floor, hoping to make a commission, but we need to rotate the glory with the grunt work, too. This system means that I also have to clean out the fitting rooms, markdown items, or restock apparel. Everyone must lend a hand for the team to succeed."
Sales
"As a Sales Manager of three large teams, I have been responsible for taking the workload and dictating who will take on which task by region, and customer sector. It is important to recognize that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I like to identify each team members' existing knowledge base while also providing opportunities for the growth of new skills."
Teacher
"I delegate to my young students daily. I believe in leading by example, rather than giving orders, so my approach will be to say to my class, 'I think it's a great idea to keep our books in alphabetical order so that we can find them easier! Who is the best at their A, B, C's?' Of course, they all raise their hands. Then I can say, 'Wonderful! Alex, you take all the books that start with A. Jessica, you are in charge of the books that begin with B,' and so on. Delegating tasks then becomes a fun game for my students rather than a chore."
Anonymous Interview Answers with Professional Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Rachelle's Feedback
Anonymous Answer
Marcie's Feedback