Delegating – How a Good Leader Becomes Better

Editor’s note: Kimberly Paterson, Certified Executive Coach and Master Energy Leadership Coach, is president of CIM (www.cim-co.com), which works with organizations and individuals to maximize performance through positive, lasting behavioral change. She can be reached at kpaterson@cim-co.com.) What follows is adapted from a recent article she authored in Rough Notes magazine (www.roughnotes.com.)

Your leadership power decreases with every initiative you hold onto and increases with every team member you empower to contribute their best work to serve the organization’s purpose.

But (some say or think):

• I can do it faster and better myself.
• I’ll have to finish it myself at the last minute, so I might as well do it all.
• I don’t want to give up control (or maybe diminish my own value.)

It doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some guidelines on delegating the right way… the way that’s right for the organization, for you as one of its valued leaders, and for each member of the team:

Choose the Task That Will Help You the Most

It isn’t necessarily the one you hate doing. List your activities, the time required for each, and the importance of each. What activities require a lot of time but are not your top five priorities? Those are candidates for delegation.

Choose the Right Person

Consider each team member’s skills, current workload, and professional development goals, and find the best match for the delegated task. Likewise, when you approach that person about the task, focus on why you’re asking him or her to accept it and why it is essential. Is it a learning opportunity? Stress that. Don’t mention how busy you are.

Clarify Expectations and Show The Way

What’s the outcome to be? How will it be measured? When should it be finished, considering the person’s other responsibilities? What support will the team member need? (It could be, for example, additional training, funds or supplies, help from others, or adjusted priorities.) But what authority do they have to enforce these decisions along the way? If you have done the task yourself previously, show the steps and confirm that the person understands them. If the task is divided between two people, what is each’s responsibility?

Checkpoints and Milestones

Stay involved. The level of support the individual needs will determine how often you need to check-in. Ultimately, agree on how often you will meet to review progress.

Expect and Embrace Mistakes

People will make mistakes; don’t compound them by taking the project back. Mistakes are a learning opportunity. By carefully reviewing what went wrong and how to correct it, you bolster your team member’s confidence that the experience has taught them a lesson.

It Won’t Be Quite Like You Would Do It

Hold your people to the job’s technical requirements and the outcome you expect. But you might have to swallow hard and accept that they put their unique stamp on it. If you can do that, you’re watching leadership emerge in someone else. You can be proud that you helped make it happen.

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