Make the Unready Ready
When I ask leaders, “Who might do some of the things you’re doing?” Some respond, “I’d love to delegate, but they’re not ready yet.”
What if they’re not ready because you haven’t prepared them?
Successful leadership is seen in the growth of others.
3 Reasons They’re Not Ready
- The Perfection Trap: When you think you’re better than everyone else, no one is good enough.
- The Control Trap: They’re not ready because you can’t let go.
- The Friction Trap: Things get messy while people learn.
Five Ways to Make the Unready Ready
#1. Determine what “ready” looks like.
Get specific. What would they be doing if they were ready? Use clear behavioral language.
#2. Communicate your expectations.
It’s not enough to say, “I need you to step up.” Describe behavior shifts.
- What behaviors need to improve?
- What behaviors need to stop?
- What new behaviors propel them forward?
#3. Audit your development skills.
Who have you prepared in the last thirty days? If your answer is “none,” the bottleneck is you.
#4. Get busy developing people.
Define how you will prepare someone over the next thirty days.
- Training: teach technical skills.
- Mentoring: Share your experience.
- Coaching: Ask questions so they find the answers.
- Stretch Assignments: Give low-stakes opportunities that build confidence.
#5. Redefine your role.
What becomes possible when people act without asking permission?
Readiness reflects development.
Stop waiting. Start building.
How do leaders prepare people to step up?
Delegate: A New 5-Step Approach
Delegate to Build Stronger Teams Sloan
#2 really resonated with me. I once asked a newer person to lead a meeting, which lead her to panic, which lead someone else to let me know she was panicking, which lead me to create a one-page summary of how to write a meeting. I still have that document, 15+ years later.
Oh, and she ran the meeting well and said afterwards it was easy.
Sometimes a little support provides long-term returns.
I knew she was ready, but she didn’t think she was. The disconnect was the problem and was solved by the one-page handout. There was nothing earth-shattering in the handout. But it gave her the confidence she needed.
It’s a gift to believe in people more than they believe in themselves.
4. The Inertia Trap: When I avoid the extra work it will take to empower someone else
Great guidance, Dan. Maybe they’re “not ready” because they haven’t been given a chance. They may be more ready than you think… can you let them fail and learn, or do they have to get it right the first time?