Are you hoarding the Friskies or sharing them? A primer in delegating leadership
Let’s get you up to speed in case you’ve not been following along. Situational leadership is critical to your team’s success. (Full stop.) There are four types of situational leaders: visionary, coaching, delegating, and directive. Meow, the name of the game in this blog post is delegating leadership, which is likened to herding cats.
Cats are highly independent, autonomous creatures but they still require a firm and guiding hand. Take my cat, Kevin, for instance. I got him an automatic feeder so he wasn't dependent on me for every meal.
I schedule it to put food in his bowl three times a day, and he can choose whether he wants to gobble it all up at once or graze throughout the day. That gives him the autonomy to chart his destiny, but I did have to make the right resources available to him and set up a system whereby he could be successful, I could reduce my involvement, and the end result is still what we both need.
Determine if you’re delegating or hoarding work
Cats aside, the question I want you to ask yourself is this: Am I delegating enough Friskies to my team OR am I hoarding the chicken and giblets thinking I’m saving them from themselves (all while I keep the control I think I’m supposed to have)? There’s no right answer really, just an honest one. In reality, sometimes we need to hoard and other times we need to delegate.
But if you’re hoarding all the time, I’m going to ask you to put the Friskies down and walk away slowly.
In other words, if you’re trying to do everything yourself; have your hand in every aspect of your team’s work; and believe this is the only way to be successful, you’re going to have one hell of a belly ache. This approach will lead to burnout and hinder your team’s progress.
Delegating leadership enters from behind the scratching post. Scene left.
Defining delegating leadership and tips for doing it well
Delegating leadership involves assigning tasks and responsibilities to the people on your team; empowering them to take ownership of their roles; and actively freeing up your time and energy investment. Doing this well means identifying those tasks that can be delegated but not everything can leave your plate. Begin by looking for the tasks or functions that don’t require your specific skills or expertise and evaluate if these can be accomplished by someone else on your team.
When you’re evaluating who on your team might be able to take that thing on, consider the skills and interests of your team members. You want them engaged and motivated by the tasks you’re assigning. And once you’ve chosen the right litter mate to hand the water bowl to, provide clear instructions and expectations. Don’t forget to provide training or resources as well so they are truly set up for success.
But don’t just walk away and assume everything will be fine. When I first started Kevin with the automatic feeder, I still needed to check on him. I wanted to make sure the feeder was working, and that Kevin was eating, and to understand how often he was using the feeder. I mean, I’m still responsible for him and his health. If he’s bingeing his food and blowing chunks, I need to know. If he packs on too many pounds because I’ve overdone the amount, I’m still beholden to the vet for the care and management of his general well-being.
Check-in with your team members regularly. This doesn’t mean micromanaging. It means ensuring their tasks or on track, on time, and done right. If they’re not, this is the opportunity for feedback and guidance to get them on the right course and heading for the best results. It’s not an opportunity to automatically take it back, scrap their work or effort, and regain all control. Sure, this could happen at times if there’s a matter of urgency or emergency (or they’re simply not getting it after giving them several tries), but it shouldn’t be the immediate response.
If your team member is being successful, remember to recognize and reward their success. Providing positive feedback and encouragement leads to continued engagement, growth, development, and success.
The benefits of delegating leadership
There are several benefits to this type of situational leadership which I think will have you rushing to put in place your own “automatic feeder.” The first of these I could argue is the most important—self-preservation. In other words, it reduces your stress and burnout. By delegating tasks to others, you can focus on the most critical tasks in your own role.
Delegating leadership also increases efficiency. (Who doesn’t love that?) In giving tasks to the best people suited to complete them, you increase your team’s overall productivity and provide that person with the opportunity for growth by taking on more responsibility.
Additionally, if you’ve given those tasks to people with specific skills or knowledge that enable that task's success and effectiveness, you’re allowing that person/people to specialize in that area. They may even go on to learn more about that item which deepens that expertise and their engagement.
When team members are invited to take ownership of something, deepen their knowledge, and contribute to the overall efficiency and productivity of their team, they feel empowered. Empowered team members are more invested and engaged. And more invested and engaged members are more likely to stick around and keep contributing to the team’s success.
The potential drawbacks of delegating leadership
Like anything, this isn’t 100% effective or perfect all of the time and it doesn’t mean you get to be entirely hands-off. Kevin’s feeder sometimes stops working and it certainly doesn’t refill itself at the end of the day. Here are some things to be on the lookout for with this type of leadership.
Let’s begin with the one a lot of leaders find the most difficult to do–giving up control. Second in line is the upfront time investment. This one can be challenging for leaders at first. In order to delegate some tasks, a system, resources, and/or training may need to be made available to the team member in order for them to fully understand their new responsibility and to do it well.
Unfortunately, even with this initial investment of time or energy to get a new person up to speed, doesn’t mean there won’t be some mistakes. Even if you choose more experienced people to take certain tasks over, doesn’t mean they’ll get it 100% right the first time or every time thereafter.
This often sheds light on the strength of communication within the team. Delegating tasks requires clear and specific communication about the responsibility and expectations of the task. With different communication styles or preferences, there can be some breakdown when a leader takes something off their plate with the intention of putting it on someone else's.
And, of course, if you don’t trust your team members to complete the task to your standard, or by the deadline, or in a way that feels acceptable to you, delegating is going to be painful and ineffective. Not just for you, but for any party involved.
Have your paté and eat it, too
You can be a great delegating leader while still holding the bag. And you must. Your job as the senior manager or executive leader is to ensure all is well and operating as it should. You can’t just walk away. What you can do, is share the buffet.
Delegating leadership is a powerful tool for those leaders who want to reduce their stress and burnout, empower their team members, and increase the efficiency, productivity, and success of their teams. Just be sure to understand the best ways to approach this type of leadership and to recognize when you might be getting in your own way.
Start today by asking yourself: What tasks have I been holding on to that I am willing to delegate? What will it take for me to consider delegating that task? What would I have to give up to delegate that task?
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Ready to share the load and lean into delegating leadership?
Join me on Tuesday, May 23rd from 4–5 pm EST for my new monthly series, "The Empower Hour." Each month, I’ll tackle a different leadership topic, and two lucky ducks will have the chance to receive live coaching. We’ll focus on “Delegating Leadership in May.” Bring a current leadership dilemma to the call and leave empowered.
