CREATE A SETTING FOR SUCCESSFUL DELEGATION

This blog is #3 in a series on the subject of empowerment. You can read the previous two here and here.

When empowering others, many leaders assume that they have to choose between control on the one hand, and chaos on the other. Of course, leaders need to deliver value to stakeholders, manage risk and manage reputation, which can encourage them to maintain tight control.

On the other hand, leaders typically want innovation, discretionary effort and speed of execution, but fear chaos if they loosen their grip.

The good news is that you don’t need to choose between control or chaos, because they’re both dumb choices. The better path is to craft a setting for success, for those you lead.

When empowerment fails, it’s typically not because team members lack the skill or motivation to step-up; it’s because we’ve not invested enough time and thought to set them up for success.

If you want to delegate effectively, and set your people up for success, make sure you can answer each of the following questions for them, each and every time you delegate a new task or responsibility.

1. What does success look like?
2. How will you keep score?
3. What are the consequences for success and failure?
4. What are the boundaries and parameters, including available time, money and resources?
5. What role are you asking them to play, relative to their colleagues and any other stakeholders?
6. Who do they need to collaborate with?
7. When and how often you will interact together?

Unless you’ve thought through all of those questions and have shared it very clearly with your team member, you’re probably not setting them up for success.

Inspiration from others

“Leadership is more about clarity than it is about control.” – Mark Goulston

“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” – John Maxwell

Questions to reflect on

• On reflection, how well are you setting your people up for success?
• Which of the seven questions do you need to consider more deeply before delegating?
• What is one action that you are committed to?

If you would like to empower your people more effectively, you can take a complimentary 30-day trial of my leadership app, Enixa, at www.enixa.co. If you would like to use Enixa to create more leaders in your team or organisation, contact [email protected].

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