At work I am often tasked with ensuring that younger engineers are  billable on my projects. I find this task much more difficult than the project itself, probably because of my ineffectiveness at delegation. Carl Selinger, in The Art of Delegating, discusses 4 ways engineers can be better delegators:

• “Clearly describe what needs to be done and by when”: Here Mr. Selinger discusses creating the proper framework to allow the delegate to be successful and communicating this framework to them. I have experienced where a misinterpretation by the person helping me results in them progressing down the wrong path. However, it is also important to not construct a framework that is too restrictive as it limits the delegate’s creativity. Mr. Selinger’s next point also speaks to this.
• “Accept that the work will not be done exactly as you would have done it”: Provide the delegate with some freedom in making decisions – this may result in them making mistakes, but in my experience the feedback they receive from those mistakes is their best learning tool.
• “Keep track of delegated work”: It is up to the delegator to keep track of all delegated work. I think it’s important to let the delegate concentrate on the details of tasks they have been assigned and leave the tracking of their progress to me.
• “Give constructive feedback and criticism”: As I mention above, the feedback engineers receive on their work is the best way to learn. Mr. Selinger calls for “good, substantive points”. I think all feedback should first discuss the project at hand and also include a more generalized version so that the younger engineer can apply it to future tasks.