Delegation - More Than Getting Things Done

Delegation is the process of entrusting another person, to perform something other than their primary responsibility. Delegation differs from transfer of ownership. Delegation is temporary, where transfer of ownership is permanent.?

Then there is the age-old question, “What if I don’t trust my people?” Well, you either have the wrong people or you are the wrong leader. Either way, the problem is yours to resolve.

Delegation demonstrates trust in the individual or team being delegated to. This also represents an opportunity for individual and team growth. As a leader, if you don’t delegate, you are not developing future leaders, you are an individual contributor masquerading as a leader.

Under delegation is often due to the classic flawed assumption, “I need to do it myself, so it’s done correctly.” Under delegation is more common than over delegation. If you delegate to the right people, they will eventually perform better than you ever imagined.

Over delegation, in extreme cases, can be viewed as abdication of responsibility.

First-time leaders often find it difficult to delegate because they are used to performing their individual contributor role, where there was no need to “off-load” any of their responsibility. Doing so signaled “I can’t handle the workload and need help”, often considered a sign of weakness.”

While establishing yourself as a trustworthy leader, through your words and behavior, you should simultaneously extend trust to others. This could be in the form of delegating responsibility or transferring ownership. Leaders should not blindly, extend trust but rather extend trust with clear expectations and accountability.

The goal is to delegate decision-making responsibility throughout the organization. The more people responsible of decisions, the stronger the organization. This also accelerates the organization’s speed and capacity for performance improvement and adaptability.

Keep in mind, the more you delegate, the more your tolerance for errors needs to increase. When you delegate you must be willing to experience potential temporary performance setbacks.

Some leaders tend to under delegate which limits future leader development and growth. Leaders can be controlling or have a growth mindset, but not both.

You don’t delegate ownership, you transfer ownership. When you transfer ownership to the right people, there is no limit to their performance. If you don’t transfer ownership to the right people, you are the limiting factor. The strength of your organization is not a reflection of what you control, the strength of your organization is a reflection of who you transfer ownership to.

Are you prepared to lead people? https://www.tdspi.com/leader-prerequisites-self-assessment