How to Delegate – Email Edition
Delegating is a skill.
It’s a particularly important one for business leaders, and it’s a great opportunity to evaluate what needs your attention or what can be outsourced to someone else. Delegating tasks to others might also empower them to perform better or more independently. Net: Delegation should be part of your overall strategy.
If you’re not good at delegating, it’s time you jump on the bandwagon. Others can show you their talent and expertise, and you can learn to trust that you don’t need to be on top of everything. And with remote work still present in our lives, effective online delegating is crucial. For this blog, we will be focusing on delegating via email. We’ll include how to delegate tasks via email but also effectively outsource email management. Both require delegation skills.
Delegation via email for solopreneurs
You might be a solopreneur, and do everything yourself. You may want to delegate a few non-essential tasks. Perhaps you are a team leader and don’t know how to delegate authority. You think you always have to do everything or at least look at everything before final decisions are made. In the concept of leadership, delegating authority is part of the game. You choose the people you work with for their skills that will further your company. In that case, delegating makes perfect sense. Sometimes, you delegate tasks to be completed, or you delegate decision authority.
Now, think of one of your typical business days (or even when you are off). How many times do you check the email app on your phone? How long do you spend in your inbox? How much time do you require to sort through all emails, flag important ones, delete spam, and respond to all? Probably a lot. We wouldn’t call it a waste per se, but we all agree that time spent on emails can be optimized. We’ll get back to email management, but first, we’ll see how we can utilize email to delegate effectively.
How to Delegate in Email
As you now know, delegating is essential, but it can be a rather tricky business. Above all, it requires trust. It also requires effective communication skills and your willingness to relinquish part of the control. It seems like a lot to do, so why even bother?
There are countless benefits, and good delegation can lead to higher productivity and success overall. It allows you to focus on things that are important to you, and you are not slowed down by tasks somebody else could be doing for you. Delegating will give you more time and energy to work on big business tasks.
To summarize, delegation frees up time for you to do what you do best. By delegating, you also foster new talents in other people. You build trust by giving more responsibility which can be an empowering move. This could lead to more fruitful team collaboration and greater success overall.
Delegating via email can both be efficient and effective in assigning tasks and responsibilities to others. This goes for team members or outsourced support like virtual assistants. To successfully do that in email, it’s absolutely necessary to communicate as clearly as possible. You have to state exactly what the expectations and goals for the tasks are. Include a deadline and maybe milestones too.
Furthermore, provide specifics and relevant details. There is zero room for clutter or unneeded information. Ask yourself what the other person needs to know to complete the task successfully. Then, communicate those expectations.
When delegating via email, you must first choose the right person who has the right skill set and knowledge for the task. Also, who can you trust to finish the task independently, meaning they don’t need or have to delegate further?
Apart from the obvious benefits of delegating, including freeing up time and resources, there are clear advantages to delegating via email.
One, emails allow clear and concise communication. Plus, you’ll have a written record of what has been delegated and when exactly. Therefore, easy tracking is guaranteed. Also, it’s an easy way to follow up. Emails can ensure that tasks are completed on time and to the set standard.
Delegating is key to running a business efficiently, and of course, email is a great tool to do so. Learn how to effectively delegate in Gmail & Outlook, among other apps.
Here is a quick checklist on how to delegate effectively in email:
Define the task (as clearly as possible. Be concise!)
Assign it to the right person (who can/should complete the task?)
Provide context (background information or tools the person requires to complete task)
Outline expectations (clearly communicate deadlines and other parameters)
Follow up (check in on progress, provide feedback)
Express gratitude (Finalize your delegation with a simple “Thank You”)
How to delegate in Email – Gmail Edition
What makes Gmail special? Some say its user-friendly interface. It’s easy to use and navigate, and its design is clean. We also like the generous storage space. All of this makes Gmail very popular for business use. Other app integrations, the search function, security, and customization are reasons why so many people use Gmail. So, how can you delegate effectively in and with Gmail?
Gmail has several features that can assist and delegating tasks and managing the process more effectively. Here is a list of ways Gmail can help:
Labels: While using Gmail, you can assign labels to emails so that you can keep them very organized, and it helps with prioritizing. You can create a special label for delegated tasks or people you have delegated to. This all allows for easy management, and you can filter through your delegating more easily.
Filters: Speaking of filters, Gmail allows you to automatically apply certain actions to incoming emails based on specified criteria. This could be the sender or a subject. So, you can set up filters to automatically forward delegated tasks to the person intended.
Reminders: Gmail is good with reminders. The reminder feature is very simple. You can set it to specific emails so you truly won’t forget about it.
Collaboration: Google, in general, is big on collaborating, and Gmail is no different. Maybe you use Google Drive and Google Docs. With these tools, you can easily delegate and collaborate. It’s super easy to attach a document or assign folders etc. This will help others work on your tasks more efficiently.
App: Let’s say you go on vacation or you are on the go. You can stay on top of all your delegated tasks. So, you get the Gmail experience very conveniently, so you will never miss out on managing or delegating your tasks.
With Gmail, it’s all about streamlining your delegation. Gmail facilitates the process and helps you optimize your productivity.
How to delegate in Email – Outlook Edition
If private or for business, Microsoft Outlook is widely used. There is a lot to love about Outlook. It has several beneficial features.
Integration: Much like Google, Outlook is excellent at integrating other products, especially Microsoft Office products like Word or Excel. You can share easily and collaborate on docs within the same system.
Assigning: Outlook allows its users to assign tasks to other team members directly from an email. The task will then include the email content the recipient can then decide to either accept or decline. This helps with clearly defining tasks.
Calendar: Outlook has a shared feature that allows users to create shared calendars which helps track someone’s schedule and availability. Then, delegation is more effortless.
Categories: This Outlook feature lets you categorize your emails and tasks based on priority or status. You can further select your criteria for the categorization, which makes filtering simple.
Follow-up: Outlook allows setting reminders to follow up on delegated tasks. This feature can be added with a specific date or when the recipient responds.
Collaboration: Microsoft has products like Teams and OneDrive that allow for smooth collaborations on delegated tasks. Simplicity is key here, and Microsoft delivers.
Conversations View: This feature allows you to view all emails related to a specific topic or project in one place. This again helps with tracking progress.
A business leader ready to delegate should take advantage of these Outlook features. They will surely help with productivity.
How to Delegate in Different Email Apps
Several other email apps can help with delegating tasks effectively. Let’s take a closer look at a few:
Spark
Spark is advertised as a great delegation tool. The unique feature of Spark is its Smart Inbox, which automatically sorts emails. Categories are created based on content, so it is super easy to prioritize tasks and then delegate them to team members or externally. They say, “Smart. Focused. Email.” We vouch for that.
Trello
Trello is a project management app and not an email app, but it integrates with your email app like Gmail. With Trello, you can create boards and lists to assign to different projects and add people to them. You can track progress in real-time.
Slack
Also not an email app per se, Slack integrates well with any Email App. The cool thing is you can create channels and add members to them. With fantastic communication features, Slack tracks well with collaborations and delegations.
There are many apps and ways to optimize delegating via email, and each leader can choose the best option. When a few key areas are covered, delegating in email is effective and efficient.
Delegating Emails
We’ve fully covered delegating via email. We’ve looked at the process and established parameters for business leaders to effectively delegate tasks. A few changes in words can have a different meaning, and we’ll take a brief look.
Business leaders can not only delegate via email, but they can delegate emails. That would include total email management. From inbox covering to triage, being on top of emails is a tedious task that requires too much of your time.
In our introduction, we touched on email management, and the benefits are clear. You save time and can rely on professionals to manage your online communications. Sure, there are emails only you can and should answer, but there are plenty that don’t require your full attention.
Picture it: No more email clutter. Email management tasks can be delegated internally or outsourced. Virtual Assistants are the perfect go-to solutions for your email management. Highly-skilled professionals will take over the responsibility of emails.
We recommend scheduling a Discovery Call with She’s A Given, so we can explain how you can delegate important tasks such as email management to a pro.
