“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”
– Jessica Jackley,
Good leaders know how to delegate. When a leader understands the importance of their tasks, and their time, they delegate. As Jessica Jackley said, what we choose not to do is just as important as what we choose to do.
Delegation can be scary for some. Fear is a huge deterrent to delegation. Fear of losing control, fear of the project failing to name a few. Also, a lack of trust causes us to not delegate. When we do not trust people we work with, we will not delegate.
Yet a good leader delegates. Sharing the load is what a good leader does. In the Bible God, who if He wanted to, could do everything Himself delegates the charge to keep the garden to humans. Moses learned to delegate at the advice of his father in law Jethro. Jesus Himself delegated to the disciples.
The risks of not delegating are more than the risks of delegating.
Below I want to share a few principles of delegation. But first let me be clear about what delegation is not.
Delegation is not abdication.
When we delegate, we are not refusing to be involved or lead. We are not being lazy. Laziness is what leads one to just pass on jobs to whomever so as to avoid doing the work themself. Rather we are taking the lead and setting the course and calling others to join. Providing direction and leadership that helps them see the course clearly.
Keys to Delegation
Delegators are clear
The first key to be a good delegator is to give a clear explanation of what the goal is, and how the task delegated will help accomplish it. Also, the task itself will be clear in as much as clear direction and key performance indicators are provided.
Delegators give control
Delegators do not micro manage. This does mean they are not available for feedback and input, but it means that they empower the worker while maintaining leadership. Being a control freak is not delegation. Casting vision, empowering and holding people accountable is what happens in delegation.
Delegators pick able people
Delegation is not a blind choice. It takes into consideration the ability of the one delegated and how that matches the task needed to accomplish the project. This means you know your assets and also your liabilities and you put the right people in the right place to better your prospects of success.
Delegators have the big picture in mind
The reason we delegate is because we see the big picture and cannot be lost in the details of every project. We see the goal clearly and keep that in front of us and the people we delegate to. We have a clear destination and we are leading our team to it.
In sum we see that in good delegation we have what I call the three 'I's' in place:
- we Invite- in other words we take the initiative and call people into places of work
- we Inform - we set clear expectations and guidelines and goals
- We invest - we are available for feedback and we coach them along the way!
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