Perforce Delegation

“If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.”

– John C. Maxwell

While delegation maybe easily defined as assigning of any kind of authority to another person to carry out a specific set of tasks, actual delegation is a tough job which not many can accomplish successfully – I definitely wasn’t one of them until …

I had always found it easier to do things with my own hands to ensure the quality I yearned for without the need of rework, perhaps at the cost of those few extra hours every day.

However, as I spread my wings wider, enveloping more and more aspiring individuals, I realised my subconscious behaviour of “DIY” was not only becoming unmanageable but was also detrimental to the overall team productivity and motivation.  

Few years back, as part of my new year resolutions, I set myself a conscious goal to learn delegation. It started with reflecting (and even speaking to) on leadership style of some of the best leaders I had worked with. It was heartening to note that what, at times, appeared to be lack of focus on details, was often a well thought through execution strategy. I also realised how my managers, through their actions, helped me in my professional journey.

As I started putting a few of those best practices in use, my own journey, over the last few years, has not only taught me to be a better team player, leader, and mentor – but also cohesive, empathetic, and resourceful. To those sailing in a similar boat, here are a few pointers on how to power those oars more efficiently.

Work “ON” the business

Delegation demands a much more structured thought over doing things yourself. Ability to visualise a bigger picture, understanding dependencies, understanding causal relationships, framing the right problem statement, and breaking the same into (fairly) independently executable chunks is a gem of a skill. While some of it is art, getting this right is an iterative process and can be honed through continuous practice. This requires committing both mental and physical bandwidth.

In addition to a structured thought, successful delegation also requires a discerning mind - a fair understanding of the team and their capabilities. Identifying the right person for the right job is a half job done.

Communicate Effectively

Once you have the blueprint ready, the next important thing is to ensure that you communicate with the responsible team(s).  It is important to communicate both the “what” and “why” (intent) to the team. But avoid being prescriptive to allow for creativity.

Focusing on intent brings objectivity and it not only helps the team members to understand the purpose but also collaborate effectively. More the clarity about intent in your communication, better the quality of the desired outcome!

Maximum Governance Minimum GOVERNMENT

Now, when you have set the ball rolling, it is important to ensure that you drive the desired outcome. This is a slippery ground. You can neither be complacent nor paranoid. By being complacent, you will lose your hold while paranoia will make you a micro-manager. To avoid this, you need a good governance model.

Delegation requires moving from a “DIY” attitude to a more pragmatic “get it done” mindset. It requires moving form a “being successful” to “making people successful” mindset. 

And governance is the spine of your delegation structure. Be in charge, chalk out your cadence structure and frequency. Decide what is that you want to measure, how do you want to measure and create dashboards/ templates. Often while finalising on what you need to measure, it is easy to get carried away and put multiple KPIs. However, its prudent to think through these meticulously and limit the number of KPIs. Defining and measuring the right KPIs (limit them to 2 or 3) gives a clarity of purpose to the team and ensures focus when the team needs it, without you needing to interfere at every step along the way – thus keeping your hands and mind free.

While one may feel a loss of control or feel that one is not being a ‘hands-on’ leader, delegation in fact helps you understand your priorities. As you grow professionally, you need a paradigm shift in your thought process as a leader and understand what you need to oversee and what you need to roll your sleeves and get into.

Have you observed a master conductor conduct his orchestra? Every musician has his or her notes in front of them and the conductor stands there, moving his hands in air, giving them direction and there – the symphony is created!!  The entire music piece exists in his mind … he then meticulously breaks it into smaller tasks and assigns them to each musician, communicates to them in the form of notes. Once they know the intended result, he stands back and leads his team to a top-notch performance.

The realization of the importance of delegation is the key to good leadership – and to the overall growth of the organization and to your fellow leaders within the organization and industry.