Delegation is one of the most essential, yet often difficult skills every leader must master. Delegation done well taps into the collective talent of the team, spreads the workload and builds a stronger team in the process. Delegation that is not done well can cause frustration, confusion, inefficiencies and discouragement. If you can learn to let go, you can grow and empower your team and develop a strong team of leaders under your care.
A great tool for communicating delegation is to take into account the four questions that every follower asks. Answering these questions is at the heart of successful delegation:
- What am I supposed to do?
- Will you let me do it?
- Will you help me when I need it?
- Will you let me know how I am doing?
- What am I supposed to do? Your people need to know what your expectations are. Never assume that they know. This requires clear instructions and expectations in terms of cost, time, concept, and decision making.
- Will you let me do it? In other words, will you give me the authority with the responsibility, or will you be looking over my shoulder micromanaging me? Beyond that, will you trust me to make this my own? Your people want to be given responsibility; clearly tell them what needs to be done and then let them have it. People are much more motivated if they have ownership.
- Will you help me when I need it? Become a resource to your people and not a control freak. Take the opportunity to mentor and coach them. If someone on your team comes to you with a problem with a project you have delegated, never say, “I’ll take care of it.” You just undermined delegation and took back the authority and the responsibility. Most of the time your people just want to be assured. They don’t want you to take it back; they just need some guidance and feedback.
- Will you let me know how I’m doing? Be sure you have established a platform for feedback and check-ins. In the book The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Patrick Lencioni points to the problem with the last two questions not getting answered. When you are stuck in a miserable job, you feel invisible (nobody sees me), you feel insignificant (I’m not making a difference), and you feel like an island (I don’t get any feedback). Giving good feedback makes people feel they have a great job and a great boss.
Although leaders know instinctively that they need to delegate, many struggle with delegating well. If that is you, perhaps one or more of these might be true for you:
- Fear of losing authority
- Fear of work being done poorly
- Fear of work being done better
- Unwillingness to take the necessary time to delegate
- Fear of depending on others
- Lack of leadership training and positive delegation experience
- Fear of losing value in the organization.
Don’t fall into the trap of believing you are indispensable. On the other side of the phrase, “Only I can do the job”, you’ll find a boss that is overworked and a team of unhappy employees.
The importance of knowing your people: On a final note, some people need supervision more than others. Each individual is going to be different. Some will need more check-ins and more personal contact, while others will be more independent. To be the most successful at delegation you will need to adjust your style of supervision according to the individual.
Getting started toward mastering the art of delegating well:
Step One: On a scale of 1-10, how good of a delegator are you really? Be honest with yourself.
Step Two: Review the list of reasons why leaders don’t delegate well. Which of those do you struggle with?
Step Three: Review the four questions every follower asks with your team. Ask them for feedback on where you excel and what you could improve on.
Step Four: Behave your way through it. Learning new behaviors is always challenging, especially when it is out of our comfort zone or feels awkward. As we have said in previous Tips, you have to behave your way to a “new” you to manifest the outcomes you are striving for.