4 Ways to Delegate Before it’s too Late
You waited too long to delegate if you’re going under for the third time. Delegation isn’t a life preserver for overworked leaders.
Desperation is a lousy context for delegation.
Practice proactive delegation:
#1. List your responsibilities and circle the top three where you believe it’s time to delegate authority.
#2. Get in the habit of making space for others to contribute to the delegation process. Start using ‘we’ more than ‘me’.
#3. Schedule one-on-ones with direct reports to get the ball rolling. Ask them to bring a list of their key areas of responsibility. Within their responsibilities …
- What areas could I delegate more to you, if any?
- Where could I ‘let go’ more?
- What areas could I provide more help?
- How could I get more involved?
#4. Seek feedback on your delegating practice from direct reports.
- When do you see me doing things others could do?
- When am I over-involved in other people’s work?
- What could I delegate this week?
(Items #3 and #4 are adapted from an article by Marshal Goldsmith on HBR)
Tip: Schedule a follow up conversation after items #3 and #4 to close the loop. Don’t promise anything. You’re exploring what could be, not what should or must be.
3 rules for successful delegation:
#1. Give high profile responsibilities to experienced team members.
High profile responsibilities aren’t development opportunities for unproven talent.
#2. Delegate to those with aspiration and openness. Don’t delegate to know-it-alls unless they already know how to do the work.
A track record of learning is essential for taking on new responsibilities.
#3. Schedule weekly follow-ups with inexperienced team members for the first month of long-term projects. Step back slowly and stay available.
Tip: Assign experienced team members to follow-up for you. In other words, give people a delegation-buddy that frees you and expands others.
What delegation practices have helped you?
What rules could you add to successful delegation practices?
I’ve seen a lot of people who are overwhelmed by stress simply because they don’t know how to delegate. I hope I haven’t seen one in the mirror, but you never know.
Thanks Michael. Hats off for being willing to look in the mirror. 🙂 The idea of proactive delegation is new to me. Don’t wait till you need to delegate.
I often tell those who have too much on their plate – teach someone else to do what you do and you instantly cut your workload in half.
Great seeing you here today, Bonnie. Your comment reminds me that sometimes we don’t delegate because we hoard knowledge. Thanks for you comment.
In the process of training and delegating a responsibility now. He’s been trained in the new skills needed. Next month we are meeting to go over routine timelines and practices. This post was helpful. Thank you. I had follow up planned, but was going to to check in after a month and leave any other follow up on him. I instead will schedule weekly meetings to follow up to make sure he has all the support he needs and that he isn’t overwhelmed, is confident in what he’s doing, and essential balls aren’t dropped. Thanks again.
Thanks John. If you think of it, would you drop me a note on how the more active approach works for you? dan at leadershipfreak dot com
Was it worth the extra time?
How long were the follow up meetings?
What suggestions would you have for future delegating activities?
Thanks again
I like that your number one point under the practice of delegation refers to delegating authority. I think we often try to delegate a task but hold on to the authority. True delegation includes at least some authority along with the task.
I don’t delegate because I am too impatient, can’t wait for the one’s I would delegate to , to complete the work. Lots of excuses for that: they have not done the work well enough in the past, they don’t have the skill set necessary to do the work, the company does not have enough resources to wait for them to do the work, the deadline for completion is too short to wait for them, I know how to do it better and can do it faster and more complete, their lack of enthusiasm or inspiration (mostly Millennials) for just normal work does not endear them to me they can do it correctly, and I simply get a high out of doing it myself. Just being honest maybe others can see similar parallels. I am attempting to delegate out but have to be very specific and intentional on those delegations.
Delegation is a hard skill to learn initially but so rewarding when mastered properly. Great post!
Excellent comments from everyone! #2 resonates – where could I let go more? I’ve been both a reluctant delegator and a grateful delegatee. If we’re the ones who are not delegating, we need to examine our motives. Are other team members unwilling or unqualified to take on extra responsibilities? Are we fearful we might be upstaged if others do well or do it better than we do? In my case, I was justifying my existence. ” If I have truckloads of work, I’m indispensable, and they can’t get rid of me.” I was proven wrong!
Sometimes leaders don’t delegate because they don’t know the how and why to delegate. And if they know how to sometimes the negative culture makes it hard to delegate.