Effective Delegation: What is Holding You Back?
How well do you delegate? Are you willing to let other people do things, or do you hold everything hold everything close to the chest?
Many people don’t value delegation as a critical skill to move forward in their career.
Our job as leaders is to support the people on our team, but also to help them grow so they can take over our jobs when we move onto the next one.
“If you are indispensable, you are unpromotable.”
You can’t get promoted if you are the only one who can do something. Delegation is an important aspect of helping your team grow and learn.
What is delegation?
To delegate means “to give a particular job, duty, right, etc. to someone else so that they do it for you.”
We often think about delegation in terms of: “Yah – I should do that,” but rarely do we determine how to make it happen.
Reasons People Do Not Delegate
Perfectionism
You don’t believe someone else can do it as well as you.
Lack of Trust
You do not have faith that they can or will do the task properly.
Fear of a Loss of Control
Individuals who self-identify as "control freaks" often struggle to delegate tasks. This reluctance may stem from a deep-seated connection between their perceived value and the tasks they handle. There exists a fear that if these responsibilities are entrusted to others and successfully executed, it could diminish their perceived value. This apprehension is rooted in the belief that personal significance is intrinsically tied to the ability to control and execute specific tasks. The challenge lies in overcoming this fear and recognizing that value extends beyond individual task mastery, encompassing the ability to empower others and contribute to collective success.
Takes Too Long to Train
Often people feel they can do the task faster themselves, so they keep doing it. Initially, it can take longer when you train someone, but eventually, they can do the task and you have that time back.
Insecurity/Ego
This is like a combination of perfectionism and fear of a loss of control; people believe that only they can do something and that is what makes them unique, special, or valuable.
Previous Negative Experiences
Sometimes a bad prior experience with delegating colours someone’s willingness to try again.
Stress/Pressure
Under stress or pressure, people can lose sight of the bigger picture and get caught in the minutiae, and not ask for help or delegate tasks.
Considerations to Successfully Delegate
Growth Mindset
Numerous factors require consideration when delegating tasks. It's essential to cultivate capacity in others while fostering a growth mindset, both within yourself and the individual to whom you're assigning responsibilities. This involves acquiring new skills, receiving constructive feedback, and continually evolving. Simultaneously, you're honing your ability to relinquish control, provide support, and empower others. Embracing mistakes, receiving feedback, and continual improvement constitute integral components of a growth mindset.
Relinquishing Control
A big barrier to people delegating is wanting it done a certain way. When you delegate, however, you need to relinquish some control over the how and focus on the result. The person may do it differently than you (sometimes even better or more efficient), which is OK.
Empowering & Supporting
Delegating does not mean you hand a task over to someone and check in at the end. It requires regular check ins and support. You need to ensure that you are available to answer questions and support them throughout the process.
Appropriateness
Not all tasks are appropriate to be delegated. Managers can’t simply delegate the people management aspect of their job.
Tips for Successful Delegation
Clearly Articulate Expectations
Taking time at the beginning of the process to clearly articulate expectations including milestones, deadlines, and results is critical. Brené Brown uses the phrase “Paint done for me” which means you clearly discuss and clarify what success looks like at the end. It is crucial for each person to understand exactly what is expected.
Brown describes it as: “Paint Done. For us, it’s significantly more helpful than’ What does done look like?’ because it unearths stealth expectations and unsaid intentions, and it gives the people who are charged with the task tons of color and context. It fosters curiosity, learning, collaboration, reality-checking, and ultimately success.” (Dare to Lead, p. 102)
Choose the Right Person
Evaluate the skillset necessary for the task and ensure you choose someone with that skillset and interest. Tools such as a SWIC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Interest & Concerns) or a DISC assessment can help. Consider people’s career paths when deciding on opportunities too.
Hold Regular Touchpoints
Schedule regular check-ins with the other person and use this time to check progress, work through issues and remove obstacles. In the beginning, these check points will need to be closer together, but as the other person gains experience, meetings can be further apart. The bonus to holding these regular meetings is that they are less likely to interrupt you when they run into a roadblock or have a question as they know they have time coming soon to discuss these with you.
Provide Resources
Ensure your team members have access to the essential resources required to complete the delegated task(s). Resources include tangible resources like people, programs and training, but also, access to data and appropriate information, and time to complete the tasks.
What’s next?
Sign up for a webinar on Effective Delegation. Check out my Services page for information about this and events and offerings.
Sign up for my free Leadership Toolbox
Review the reasons people don’t delegate and ask yourself if any apply to you.
Pick one task you can delegate and using the considerations listed above, create a plan to delegate
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