Delegation: How Wise Leaders Delegate Effectively [VIDEO]

As a leader, have you ever felt like more and more things get stuck to you as you go through your day? You either fail to give things away, or you allow assignments and projects that others could have or should have done to land on you. One of the hardest skills for someone to learn as a leader is delegation.

Why Is Delegation So Hard?

The reason we struggle to delegate ultimately comes down to fear.

• FEAR the task won’t be done correctly

• FEAR giving up something you like to do

• FEAR you won’t be as needed as you once were

• FEAR they may be even better than you

• FEAR someone not liking you, so you don’t hold them accountable to the responsibility given to them

How Wise Leaders Delegate

To be more effective at delegation, follow these five steps that wise leaders use to successfully empower their team.

1. Hire Smart

Hire the right people – people who are competent, teachable, and who can do the job well.

2. Provide Training

To effectively delegate, we have to provide training. We can't expect people to do the job well without being taught how to do it well. Remember, we were all taught. People took the time to invest in us, and we have to invest in others as well.

3. Define Expectations

It is never fair to expect someone to fulfill our expectations if we've never explained what those expectations are to begin with. Expectations are vital to effective delegation.

4. Take Risks

It's risky to delegate because people are not us, and they may not do things the way we choose to do them. This is why we have to be willing to take risks. When we give a task to someone else, we have to believe that they are going to do it well, and we have to entrust them with that responsibility. And that requires risk.

5. Show Confidence

People can pick up cues from us as leaders. Those cues might be that we are second guessing, we are doubtful, or we are not really sure they are going to do a good job. We need to be quick to trust them and slow to rescue them. Give them the job, expect them to do well, and let them do it.

A wise leader delegates not only because it gives other people the opportunity to learn and grow, but also because it gives us as leaders the opportunity to focus on other things that are important and that only we can do.

What have you found to be your biggest struggle with delegation? Comment below!

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Jay Desko is the CEO of The Center Consulting Group and brings experience in the areas of organizational assessment, leadership coaching, decision-making, and strategic questioning. Jay’s degrees include an M.Ed. in Instructional Systems Design from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from The Union Institute.