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In a previous article about why leaders can’t do it all, I suggested that we need to be able to delegate work effectively if we hope to be able to get all the work done that we need to in order to meet our goals and vision. I also suggested what delegation should not be. Now I want to take a look at what effective delegation should be.
Those who have a position of leadership or authority need to be spending the bulk of their time leading and managing. In most cases, this means there isn’t enough time to be able to lead and manage AND be able to do the “real work”.
Certainly there is something to the idea of the “highest and best use” of a leader’s time determining what work needs to be delegated, but effective leaders also know that delegation need not be just about getting the work done. It can also be an opportunity for allowing followers to learn and grow.
Helping Others Learn and Grow
Delegation becomes a win-win proposition when we use it as an opportunity to let followers show what they are capable of. Giving followers work that allows them to showcase their abilities and talents as well as maybe stretch themselves a little bit can have positive results. Not only does the work get done well, it shows our trust in our followers and allows them to take ownership and responsibility for their work which is a great motivator.
It may only seem like a subtle difference, but we need to change our thinking from:
Using delegation to get someone else to do our work.
To:
Using the work that we are unable to complete on our own because of lack of time to help others learn and grow.
Even the work that we just don’t want to do because it’s monotonous and boring, that I’ve previous called “crap work”, can be useful as a learning opportunity to someone who is new or needs to learn these new skills.
Supporting Others Doing the Work
Remembering that the goal is still to get the work done that we are all responsible for, when we delegate something to someone else we still need to have an interest in the quality and the ultimate outcome. We can’t just dump the work and move on. We need to stay involved in the work, but in an appropriate way.
Staying with the idea of using delegation to help others learn and grow, we can’t micromanage the work or the growth opportunity will be lost. Effective delegation ends up looking like what we picture effective leadership to be. Instead of trying to manage how the work is done, instead we need to take on the role of coach and advisor and find ways to remove the barriers that get in the way of completing the work.
When we have tasks that we want others to complete we need to give them the space to figure out how they can best accomplish what is needed. I always like to say that those who know the work best are those who are actually doing it. So once we provide a clear understanding of the “deliverable” that we are looking for, we need to get out of the way and let them do the work as they see fit.
Of course, this doesn’t mean we go off to do other things and don’t pay attention to what’s happening with the task we’ve assigned. Effective delegation allows for us to check in on the work at regular intervals. But how we do this check in is important.
Checking In
Instead of using the check in time to ask things like “What have you completed so far?”, we should approach the check in time by asking questions like “How are things going? What barriers are in your way that I might be able to help with? What things have you learned so far? Do you have any questions?” By asking these types of questions, we should still be able to get a clear understanding of how the work is progressing, but it shows folks that we are there to support their work.
This kind of check in also allows us to make sure that all of the relevant information that is needed to complete the work ends up in the right hands. Even with our best intentions, sometimes crucial details can be left out in the beginning when we first assign a task. Using regular check ins where we use our supporting questions will help to uncover any missing information and allow the work to not only proceed smoothly, but also insure that the outcome is what was desired.
Many, especially those that have trouble delegating, see learning to effectively delegate as a sort of self defense mechanism. They need to learn it because they can’t survive long periods of time trying to lead and manage AND do all the work themselves. But learning to delegate effectively provides a wonderful opportunity to be an effective leader by not only getting the work done that moves us towards our goals and vision but also allowing followers to learn and grow.
Leader’s Reflection: Effective leaders are also effective delegators who use delegated tasks as an opportunity to help others learn and grow while getting more work done than the leader could ever do on their own.
