Here is a principle you must understand for organizational efficiency:
Sometimes the best person for the job may not be the person who (you think) can do the job best.
Let me explain…
High capacity leaders struggle to let go of something they think they can do better. Most have a higher than normal sense of confidence in their abilities (this ego can be used for good or bad), so they believe they can best implement their ideas. Their drive for progress makes them doers by nature, so they often resist the process of delegation, even if they know it is the healthy thing to do for the organization, because they fear it won’t be done right unless they do it.
One key to solving this issue is for the leader to change visions from the specific project or function the leader desires to see completed to attention to the vision and overall success of the organization. Instead of seeing a project for the potential of pass/fail depending on who does it, begin to see the results of the total organization as the appropriate pass/fail scenario. In this approach, delegation becomes a key to moving projects forward, getting the entire team involved, developing new leaders, and completing all the tasks needed to successfully attain the organization’s goals and objectives.
Leader, if you tend to be a control freak, perhaps you don’t need to change your personality, as much as you need to change your vision. Delegating frees the leader to do those things he or she is most passionate about, most gifted to do, or things he or she never completes because there is never enough time to do them. Begin to see that the best person for the job may not be the person (in your most humble opinion…) who can do the job best.
Plus, chances are very good you will soon realize others can do the job equal to or better than you can.
Are you a control freak? How do you deal with this?
This is an excellent point, and something I personally have struggled with time and time again. It seems to me that the biggest challenge leaders face (or at leas I do) is learning the proper balance between working hard with actions and working hard with "free time."
What I mean by "working hard with free time" would be things like taking time off so the people you delegated tasks to become responsible for what you gave them. Even if the person is able and willing, even if we as leaders try not to get involved anymore in the thing we delegated, if we're around people still come to us and we still exert influence without trying, and that takes up our time and slows down the delegation process. So, it seems there has to be some times when we have to take time off or become unavailable so as to be more productive in accomplishing delegation.
Similarly, I've seen as a leader that it's important that I leave margin in my life for unexpected events. For instance, I lead a English as a Second Language program at my church, and if I'm working at 99% capacity and then a teacher gets sick, or we have five new students arrive unexpectedly, then all that extra work must fall on those I lead, because I only have 1% margin left in my time. That's not good because the whole reason I'm leading them rather than the other way around is because I have more experience and I am able to better respond to sudden changes. But, if I delegate myself down to 85-90% of my capacity, then I have room to absorb any emergencies without putting extra pressure on those I lead and without negatively impacting their ability to perform with excellence.
But, of course, I don't want to be the leader who sits in the shade sipping lemonade while those I lead sweat and I take the credit.
It's a hard balance to find, and probably one we as leaders could talk about more with new leaders.
Great add to this post. I agree with this struggle. I share it with you. Thanks
Ron- thanks so much for this post. I needed to read this going into this week. Blessings brother.
Thanks Julie