Home / Non-Accredited / Leadership & Management / Delegation Skills Training (1 day)
Quick Look Course Summary:Delegation Skills Training (1 day)
-
Length: 1 day(s)
-
Price (at your venue): 1 Person R 5,654 EX VAT 3 Person R 3,982 EX VAT 10 Person R 2,954 EX VAT
-
Certification Type:Non-Accredited
-
Locations & Venues: Off-site or in-house. We train in all major city centres throughout South Africa.
Get Free & personalised
Training Advice
Delegation Skills Training (1 day)
Managers and team leaders who hand over work clearly, follow it up without micromanaging, and free their own time for the work only they can do.
Many managers and team leaders were promoted because they were good at the work, and then find it hard to let go of it. The signs are familiar: a manager working late while capable staff wait for instructions, decisions held up on one desk, and people who never get the chance to take on more. This one-day delegation skills training deals with that problem directly. It is not a general leadership course – the whole day is spent on handing work over well and getting it back done properly.
Delegates learn to decide what to delegate and what to keep, match each task to the right person and the right level of authority, and run a clear delegation conversation that covers the outcome, standard, deadline, resources and check-in points. They also learn to follow up without hovering, deal with work that keeps coming back to their own desk, and use delegation as a way to develop their people.
The day is practice-heavy. Delegates bring a list of the tasks on their own desk and work on those rather than on textbook cases. They practise the delegation conversation in role-plays, with an observer, a checklist and feedback from the facilitator. Each delegate leaves with a written delegation plan for three real tasks to hand over in the next 30 days.
Why this course
For your organisation
- Managers who spend their time on management work, not on tasks their staff can do
- Fewer bottlenecks and fewer decisions waiting on one person
- Staff who build new skills on real work, which supports succession planning
- Clear ownership, standards and deadlines for every delegated task
- A team that keeps working when the manager is away
For your delegates
- A simple way to decide what to delegate and to whom
- A checklist for briefing a task clearly the first time
- Practice of the delegation conversation, with feedback
- Ways to follow up without micromanaging or taking the task back
- A written delegation plan for three of your own tasks
What delegates will be able to do
- Explain what effective delegation is and how it differs from dumping work or giving up responsibility
- Recognise the reasons you hold on to tasks and what that costs you and your team
- Audit your workload and decide which tasks to delegate, which to keep and which to stop doing
- Match a task to the right person by weighing their skill, willingness and current workload
- Choose the level of authority to hand over, from investigating and recommending to deciding and acting
- Brief a task clearly: outcome, standard, deadline, resources, authority and check-in points
- Handle pushback and confirm the other person's understanding during the delegation conversation
- Monitor progress and give feedback without micromanaging, and stop work being handed back to you
- Use delegated tasks to develop team members and plan their next stretch assignment
Who should attend
Supervisors, team leaders, new and experienced managers, and specialists who now lead others – anyone who is overloaded, finds it hard to let go of tasks, or wants to grow their team by giving people more responsibility. It also suits professionals who direct the work of assistants, junior staff or project team members without formal line authority.
Course outline
Day 1 – Delegating well: from your task list to a delegation plan
Why delegation matters and why managers avoid it
- What delegation is – and how it differs from dumping work or abdicating responsibility
- The cost of not delegating: bottlenecks, overtime, stalled development and a team that waits for you
- Common reasons managers hold on: speed, fear of mistakes, loss of control and guilt about workload
- The shift from doing the work yourself to getting work done through others
- Self-assessment: how well do you delegate today?
Deciding what to delegate
- Auditing your own workload from a list of this month's tasks
- Tasks worth delegating: recurring work, work others can do well, and development opportunities
- Tasks to keep: confidential people matters, discipline and performance reviews, direction-setting and anything your own manager expects from you personally
- Levels of delegation: look into it, recommend, decide and report back, decide and act
- Exercise: sorting your own tasks into keep, delegate and stop
Matching tasks to people
- Assessing skill and willingness for a specific task, not in general
- Choosing the level of authority to suit the person and the risk
- Spreading opportunity across the team instead of always using the same strong performer
- Checking the person's current workload and what comes off their plate
- Linking delegated tasks to individual development plans
The delegation conversation
- Structuring a clear brief: outcome, why it matters, standard, deadline and resources
- Agreeing authority and accountability, and telling the people who need to know
- Confirming understanding by asking the person to play the task back
- Handling pushback: 'I'm too busy', 'that's not my job' and low confidence
- Role-play in threes on delegates' real tasks: manager, team member and observer with a checklist
- Feedback and a second round applying it
Following up without micromanaging
- Agreeing check-in points up front, matched to the level of delegation
- Keeping track with a simple delegation log
- When work goes off track: coaching questions before taking the task back
- Upward delegation: stopping problems from landing back on your desk
- Reviewing the finished task, giving recognition and capturing what was learned
Your delegation plan
- Choosing three tasks to hand over in the next 30 days
- For each task: the person, the level of authority, the brief, the check-ins and how you will judge success
- Practising the opening of one real delegation conversation
- Peer review of plans and facilitator feedback
- Evaluation and close
How it is delivered
One day, 08:30-16:00. In person at your offices anywhere in South Africa, at a BOTI venue, or live online. One delegate or a group of up to 20; examples tailored to your workplace on request. Workbook, delegation checklist, role-play scenarios and a personal delegation plan included.
What our clients say
“The training was practical, engaging and relevant to our workplace environment, providing participants with valuable knowledge and practical skills that could be applied in their respective roles.”
“The facilitator was excellent and took time to ensure that the employee understood the content and was able to apply the learning in order to develop the portfolio of evidence.”
“The facilitator who conducted the training was professional and tailored both the schedule and environment to ensure that learners had a safe space to share authentic, real-life experiences”
Frequently asked questions
Can you run this course at our offices?
Yes. Most groups are trained at the client's premises anywhere in South Africa; we can also host it at a BOTI venue or deliver it live online.
How many people can attend?
From one delegate to groups of about 20. The price per delegate drops as the group grows – see the price table, or ask us for a quote.
Is it accredited?
No – it is a non-accredited short course and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Do delegates work on their own tasks?
Yes – that is how the day is designed. Ask delegates to bring a list of the tasks on their desk this month; they use it to choose what to delegate and to practise real delegation conversations. If you send us typical situations from your workplace beforehand, the facilitator builds them into the role-plays.
How is this different from your supervisory and leadership courses?
Our supervisory, new-manager and leadership courses cover the wider management role. This course spends the whole day on one skill – delegating well – with most of the time on practice. It suits managers who are overloaded or find it hard to let go, and works well as a follow-up to a broader management course.
Related courses
Get your price – the more delegates, the less each pays
Change the options to see your price per person, then email yourself the quote and course outline.
Contact us now – we reply within 15 minutes during office hours
Monday to Friday, 08:00–17:00. After hours, we reply on the next working day – or call 011 882 8853.