by Garry Spotts

Created on: July 25, 2009

The Delicate Art of Delegation

Life is funny! Sometimes it's even funny in a "ha-ha" sort of way. Human beings are animals of extremes. We either under-do or we over-do. Very few people are middle-of-the-roaders in anyway except in self-perception.

I remember learning a great truth as a leader in a business organization: "People will do 50% of what you do right and they will do 100% of what you do wrong."

I saw this truism played out many times in organizations where leaders including myself made errors and on occasion, got leadership right. Leadership is tricky because it requires the right combination of qualities to lead the right people. Qualities such as integrity, delegation, accountability, responsibility and agility can be studied in one of the many books that populate bookstore shelves.

One of the most valuable leadership qualities is delegation. I have found that the challenge most people have with delegating important work is that they have not found someone they trust to accomplish the task. Failure to delegate is almost always rooted in a lack of trust. While the mistrust may be an accurate assessment of the person, it raises the enormous challenge of getting large projects done.

As good as you may be, you are not good enough to get everything done by yourself. Remember, "Nothing springs forth full grown!" Whether you are a business owner, a church pastor, a non-profit organization director, a parent, a teacher or any combination of the above; accomplishing the large project requires delegation.

But Before You Delegate...

Discover the source of your mistrust. Ask yourself why I distrust the person or persons to get the job done, that I either do not have the time or the talent to do myself? The answer may surprise you.

Could it be your impatience?

Have you given the person adequate time to learn the task and to develop the skills needed to accomplish it? I have watched as people I have mentored lose patience with others over the very thing that I bit my tongue with them about. I remind them of the patience required to mentor them and that they owe that debt to others.

I once heard a speaker define Frustration as, "The realization that you have not done everything that you could have done to increase the likelihood of success." The quote suggests that frustration is an inside job and is and expression of personal failing rather than being directed at someone else.

Delegation should follow assessment and education

You are a leader. The time will come in every leader's life when you will need the support of others to accomplish a work larger than you can do on your own. Are you consciously preparing people to assume leadership roles as opportunities rise? If you are not preparing people, then you have most certainly decided to be "Frustrated".

Prepare people for delegation.

Explain the concepts and ideas essential to your work regularly. Explain and describe the things you do, to the people around you, as you do the things you do. Give small chunks of your work (non-essential) to people and evaluate their effectiveness only after they have demonstrated that they understand the concepts, ideas and the scope of your work. Give people room to succeed and to fail

Potential leaders tend to identify themselves. As a rule of thumb when evaluating a person's ability to handle a task you plan to delegate, "believe only what you have seen when they did not know you were looking." Add Leaders through training, delegation and evaluation. In this way you duplicate yourself. Adding leaders to your team through training produces duplication which in turn creates a multiplying effect within your organization.

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