Delegating Like a CEO
In many ways, successful leaders are forced to balance seemingly contradictory ideas. Dream big, but keep an eye on the details. Delegate responsibility, but be accountable for any mistakes that occur on your watch. Encourage collaboration, but own your team’s results.
It can be very hard to get the balance right, but doing so will help your team win. The best leaders enable their teams to achieve success in a disciplined way, time and time again.
If you’ve studied business management in the past 30 years, then you should know the name Andy Grove. Former CEO of Intel and author of High Output Management, he played in the rise of Silicon Valley through powerful innovations in microchip technology. I had the great honor to meet him before he passed away a few years ago.
Great process managers like Grove realize that rigorous controls are critical to identifying and eliminating oversights. It takes discipline to diligently track output, face hard facts and shore up processes. And it takes courage to hold the line even when your team is struggling to meet their benchmarks. This leads to many teams being over-led and under-managed. Many can dream big, but few have the grit and determination to make those dreams a reality.
It takes time to find the right balance of visionary leadership and disciplined management. By studying CEOs focused on process excellence, you’ll learn how to delegate appropriately while remaining accountable and owning any project failures.
The Art of Delegation: Responsibility Vs. Accountability
Successful leaders learn to leverage others and let others lead. For your team to perform their best, individuals with diverse skill sets should be encouraged to showcase their unique talents. Collaboration leads to better outcomes, but many leaders struggle with how much to delegate while still maintaining ownership of a team’s successes and failures.
It might feel unfair, but the reality is that responsibility flows downward while accountability flows upward. Whether you're already a seasoned leader or aspire to lead cross-functional efforts in the future, you can’t lose oversight of the areas where you’ve delegated responsibility to others. It starts with having a good grasp of how capable your team members are. Then, even after they’ve earned your trust, it’s up to you to monitor their output so you can jump in and either correct or take back control of a task as needed. Andy Grove said, “A common rule we should always try to heed is to detect and fix any problem at the lowest-value stage possible.”
Certain areas within your team should not be delegated away. For me, strategy, talent decisions and governance will always remain my responsibility. Leaders must also be familiar enough with tech and design principles in order to know when to slow down and proceed with extra caution.
Effective leaders are generous with public recognition to reward those who exceed expectations. On the other end of the spectrum, private coaching can help unlock the full potential in those who are struggling to meet goals. A balanced approach to coaching and recognition will leave each person on the team feeling cared for and appreciated.
It takes time and focused learning to develop a deep understanding of management. It pays to study CEOs who’ve demonstrated the rare ability to adapt to changing technologies while maintaining disciplined operational management. As you get more senior, you own more outcomes and you can’t make excuses. Leaders help their teams win. That’s job one.