Don't Fear Delegation, Delegation is Freedom

One of the things that I find working with my clients is that we often talk about the importance of delegation. Often, my clients share they are afraid to delegate. There are many reasons why we fear delegation; fortunately, there are specific techniques leaders can use to address this fear.

To illustrate the importance of delegation, I offer you this analogy about shoe tying. When we're teaching a child to tie his or her shoe, it's much easier for us to do it for him or her, right? It starts simply enough; we're running out the door because we are always going in a million directions. We say, "Let me just tie your shoe really quickly." It is quicker and more efficient, but every time we do that, we're prolonging the amount of time that we're going to be tying this kid's shoes. If we continue in this way, we're going to be tying this kid's shoes forever!

It's the same thing with delegation. If we don't train our people how to do certain things, we're always going to be doing it for them. The other reason delegation is necessary is because we need to grow the people on our teams. Regardless of your level of leadership, there are people who report to you who need to complete their tasks for you to be able to do your job. When we don't delegate tasks like these, then we are constantly in the weeds when we need to have a 30,000-foot view.

Here are the top four reasons leaders don't delegate and what can be done about it.

"It Won't Get Done Right"

In order to address this, the first thing we must do is define "done right." After defining what "done right" looks like, you need to explain your expectations. Next, you're going to gradually release responsibility for the task, and then you're going to monitor progress. One of the phrases that all leaders should live by is what isn't monitored isn't done. It's our responsibility to make sure that we're monitoring people as they're going through whatever task it is that you've delegated to them.

The way that I do things may be different from the way that someone else in my organization does things. At the end of the day, if the other method works, it doesn't have to be my method. If you're the type of person who only wants things done your way, then you need to check yourself and ask, "Am I micromanaging?" If you get to that point where you're micromanaging people, then it is going to be very difficult for you to delegate. People are never going to want to work with or do things that you delegate because you're hovering over them.

To effectively delegate:

Step 1: Define what right is.

Step 2: Explain your expectations.

Step 3: Gradually release responsibility for the task.

Step 4: Monitor progress.

"It Won't Get Done in a Timely Manner"

The second reason we fear delegation is that we fear the task won't get done in a timely manner. The strategies that I'm going to share here are also going to help you with conquering the first fear. The first step after using the strategy above is to establish a timeline. Once you create your timeline, you must backward map to it. Look at where you need to be when and then map out benchmarks. Mapping out benchmarks and creating a system for checking the benchmarks are complete will ensure all tasks are completed before or on schedule. The first time that you delegate a task, you're likely going to be more involved than you will the next time the person completes the task.

The one really big takeaway is that by delegating properly, we can better ensure the success of the outcomes. When something goes awry, or you don't get the results you anticipated, you need to self-reflect. You need to look at yourself and ask, "Okay, what did I do to set that up? Did I set it up properly?" If you determined that you didn't set it up properly then you need to create a plan as to how you will set it up differently next time. If you determine that you set it up properly, and the person isn't following through, then you need to have a conversation to remedy the situation.

"I Can Do It Expeditiously"

Another reason people give for not delegating is that they believe they can do the tasks themselves quickly. When leaders do that, they are just taking away from other tasks that only they can and need to do. They're continuing to just add things to their task list that other people can and should be doing. While it may be true that the leader can do it expeditiously, it doesn't mean that the leader should.

The job of a leader is to grow other leaders within the organization. When a leaders does not delegate, he/she is not developing others. Leaders must spread their knowledge and grow the skills of others so that there are people in the wings ready to take on important projects and/or step in when a leader steps out.

"I'm Not Good at Delegating!"

The last reason people give for not delegating is saying, "I'm not good at delegating." The truth of the matter is the only way you get better at delegating is by doing it. If you follow the strategies in this article, you will become more confident in your abilities to delegate and more effective at supporting your team members as they take on new responsibilities.

A simple way to figure out what should be delegated is to look at each task and figure out who on the organizational chart can help you with that. Sometimes you're delegating a part of the tasks and maybe not the entire task. Leaders who are afraid to delegate can effectively lead and get more done by implementing these techniques.