Part of growing an organization is delegating, or getting more people involved in the process of accomplishing the overall goals and objectives of the organization. It cannot be overemphasized that if you want to grow the organization, you must learn to delegate. The part of delegation, however, that many leaders have the hardest time doing is letting go of his or her right to control the work being delegated.
Keep this in mind as you delegate responsibilities to others:
- The work may not happen exactly when you want it to…
- The work may not be done exactly as you would have done it…
- The work may not look exactly as you had envisioned it looking…
If the person you delegate to understands and believes in the overall vision and is willing to carry the project through to completion, letting go of your right to control the outcome of the project may be necessary for delegation to occur.
The best leaders realize he or she can never accomplish everything personally, so he or she is willing to delegate. Ultimately though, there is no delegation without some release of ownership.
For a similar post on this topic, click HERE.
Good call. Thank you.
As a volunteer at my church I find that if I ask the right questions of the person delegating task/projects to me I find that we are both happier with the results. A clear understanding of the vision, expectations and deadlines.
Dave, you are a wealth of information! Thank you!
Hey Ron,
Here's another take on the whole delegation thing. I learned this from Bass & Avolio in one of their books on transformational leadership. If we have an eye to develop our direct reports there are times we delegate things to them that will help them grow in their leadership/management acumen. It may not be about getting stuff off our plate, or getting more things done, but helping them grow in areas that will make them better leaders.
Just another thought.
I appreciate your insights and ideas you share with us all.
Blessings,
Dave
As a self-proclaimed control monger, I struggle with delegation all of the time. You are absolutely correct that those three of the hardest things to accept while delegating. The interesting thing is that we, as leaders, are always wishing we had more time to get things done. That only happens if you're willing to give up some control/ownership through delegation. Great post, thanks for the insight and reinforcement.
Your honesty is refreshing Christopher.