Delegation not Capitulation

-
Many struggle with Effective Delegation. A common misunderstanding is that delegating is a capitulation over the control of an outcome – “give it away and forget it.” Why do some master delegation while others are afraid of it or frustrated with it? The answer starts with self-awareness.

While there are many personality types, there are two common flawed perspectives on the idea of delegating from two entirely different mind-sets: the Defender and the Pretender.

The Defender is a high-order and detail-oriented person for whom delegation can feel like giving away control. He does the task better than most, so “why bother?” His experience in delegating has resulted in failure to meet dates or a poor level of quality.

The Pretender is a big picture guy for whom delegation is a way of life. He surrounds himself with strong people “that are just expected to execute.” He may have had mixed success with this approach but feels emotionally disconnected from the process and divested of the subordinate.

The Defender frequently hears, “Joe, you just need to learn how to delegate more.” To Joe, this is a value judgement creating fear, and the pressure to give up control. His ability to control has made his career as successful as it is today, making delegation a personal threat. The Pretender, conversely, has no fear but doesn’t understand how his ineffective delegation impacts results. He does a poor job providing details and clarity on the task.

Each mind-set could be improved with self-reflection even though they have vastly different starting points. For the Defender proper delegation can actually increase his control through frequent touch points and teaching moments. In the case of the Pretender more appropriate delegation will start with teaching and confirming subordinate understanding of the task thus remaining part of the equation. This is done through clarification, patience, and following through.

BOTH mind-sets get the advantage of a multiplier effect of themselves by teaching another to perform the task, thereby increasing the capacity of the overall organization. You may be surprised to find that the subordinate did the task more creatively, thoroughly, or effectively.

The paradigm shift is in treating delegation as a teaching moment. The entire process is a mechanism for managing delegated tasks, creating a cadence of accountability, mentoring, and ultimately successful growth for the organization.

Regardless of which type of person you are, a good delegation process will help the Defender “feel comfortable” with letting go, and the Pretender “feel confident” that he has the right players on the team. Avoid the frustration that comes from capitulation.

Ask yourself this question, “Why am I not delegating at all or why is my success substandard?” Then, pause, and take a look into the mirror for your answer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Customer Understanding - Do You Really Know Them?

-
Image
tophdimgs.com Customers can be hostile antagonists or a strenuous protagonists. They love you when they love you but can turn venomous when feel mistreated. Partnering with customers is an important mindset to assume, but partnering comes from the basis of mutual power and mutual respect. Similar to the adage “peace through strength”, companies need to find their own strength in the relationship in order to create a partnership environment with core customers. This "strength" comes from knowing your customer better than they know themselves. Depending on the history of your business, strength starts with aligning your performance to customer needs such as delivery, quality, cost downs, and innovation. Too many companies either don’t measure their performance as seen through the eyes of the customer, or they only measure quality and delivery – Core Performance. Core Performance is simply the entry fee for maintaining business with customers where overall supplier pe...
Read more
-
Image
Dissatisfaction, The Ultimate Motivator What causes people to take action or behave in a certain way or different way? What is their motivation? Motivation in the workplace can be a significant factor in creating greatness or sustaining mediocrity. Motivation is a fascinating and complicated topic. What are some of the common influences that frequently stimulate our motivation to achieve? Charismatic leaders Accountability conversations Disciplinary actions Anticipating an achievement Fear Desire The Future What is the Ultimate Motivation at the core of all influences?
Read more
-
Image
Taking A “Servant Leadership” Approach to Culture Change Organizational leaders talk a lot about how to change a culture. Changing the culture of an existing business, especially mature businesses like Romeo RIM — which has been around for 35 years — can be an amazingly difficult task. Once a company decides it needs new leadership at the top, it has an immediate challenge — credibility. New leaders start on important initiatives and the individuals at the organization’s lowest levels are skeptics: “We’ve seen this before; all we need do is wait him out and he will go away like the rest of them.” This is the reality of a new change agent within any company. How, then, do organizations make a culture change? It always starts with vision/mission and a confirmation or re-creation of the business’ core values. However, focusing on core behaviors — the first priority in cultural transformation — is a better approach than focusing on values. One cannot measure values, but we can o...
Read more