Each day one of my executive coaching clients will emphatically complain “I don’t have enough time.” Everyone is faced with an avalanche of e-mails, urgent requests, and attendance at a never ending wave of meetings. Everyone seems to feel what is now called “time famine.”

Resolving time famine is challenging because of the simple law of physics. The principle is that a body in motion, stays in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force. Each of us, as a “body” stays in motion unless an outside force intervenes. The outside force is usually a drop in productivity, lower job satisfaction, being overwhelmed, or burning out.  Sometimes your health intervenes.

A client and I were recently engaged in a discussion on how he could get more time for strategic thinking, cross-functional relationship building, and driving projects. After asking a few questions, I realized that he took on too much and off-loaded too little. The solution was simple – delegate.  So simple, yet so difficult.

Here are the five D’s of Effective Delegation.

Delegate the details.  Even though it may take you less time to tell someone to do the details, over the long run it pays off. Off-loading tasks to one’s assistant or staff is a discipline that requires practice.

Delegate Decisions.  This does not mean “abdicate responsibility”, but rather an opportunity for others to learn how to make decisions. By allowing others to make decisions, you are complimenting them by showing your trust in their judgment. Of course, be judicious and identify those individuals who have the skill for critical thinking.

Delegate Deliverables.  Be clear, precise, crisp, and exact with what you want accomplished, when you want it accomplished, and the quality of the outcome. Clearly communicating specific expectations is critical for setting people up for success.

Delegate Delegation. Being an effective executive or manager requires cascading accountability. Coach your staff to delegate to their staff. Make sure that at all levels in your organization managers are delegating to free up time for what contributes and what is important.  This is critical to a successful organization.

Delegate Trust.  Last, but not least – let people do their job.  If you are paying people, have trust that they will meet or exceed your expectations. If not, you may need to provide coaching, or you have not hired the right people.