A different perspective on delegation
"Delegation requires the willingness to pay for short term failures in order to gain long term competency." Dave Ramsey
Delegation is an essential skill of effective leaders. Those who fail to delegate, for whatever reason, find themselves overwhelmed and unsuccessful. Moreover, they stifle the growth of their people. Leaders fail to delegate for three reasons. The first is fear. They are terrified that the person receiving the task will not perform it to their liking or that they may get it wrong thus making them (the leader) and the organization look bad. Second is laziness. This is the classic, "I'll just do it myself," approach. This approach is the easy button with bad consequences - the largest of which is stifled growth of subordinates. Lastly, leaders don't delegate out of guilt. They don't feel right handing more work to their people so they end up doing it or not doing it at all. This approach violates the real duties and requirements of the position leaders hold. For instance, a leader making sales calls instead of leading and directing the sales team.
Indeed, there are cases where leaders must jump in and roll up their sleeves, however, these cases must be the exception and not the norm. Fear, laziness, and guilt will always exist, therefore leaders must do some indirect or foundational work to overcome these challenges, meaning preparing individuals and teams for delegation before they (the leader) delegate. This foundational or preparatory approach creates an environment which eases delegation. Here are a few examples.
Announce delegation. Leaders should prepare their team to 'take on the work' by announcing that they will place trust in individuals and promote teamwork to accomplish tasks and achieve excellence - that they will be directing not doing.
Explain their role. Leaders should define and explain their role and describe how they must honor their role for the sake of the organization. This explanation must highlight how they (the leader) taking on tactical tasks (while they are ready to jump in and help) hurts the greater organization.
For example, "Team, I'm going to let you do the work associated with this project. Of course, I'm always ready to jump in and roll up my sleeves, but you have my full trust and confidence. My role is to see the bigger picture, focus on our strategic goals, obtain resources and authority, and champion your efforts with senior leadership."
Resist the temptations of fear, laziness, and guilt. Force yourself to delegate. Nobody held your hand as you took on tasks when you were the subordinate. Indeed, prepare and resource your people but do only those things which only you can do. Live by this philosophy and you'll honor the position you hold. Analyze risk. 'Will the ship sink if I give Matt this task and he gets it wrong?" If no, delegate. Do the work upfront by communicating with your team and you'll be the Jedi Master of delegation!
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell