Mastering Delegation: Striking the Balance
March 14, 2024
Where do you sit in the balance between
being a control freak or a hands-off leader?
In an effective delegation, or role description, authority, responsibility and appropriate ownership are three key areas of balance for a leader. The leader outlines the desired outcomes and appropriately authorises the delegate to ensure they are equipped to achieve the agreed goals.
At this point the delegate ‘owns’ the role.
Some leaders struggle to relinquish control and delegate authority, which means they remain engaged - some would say inappropriately, in driving specific outcomes. Other leaders abdicate responsibility and fail to maintain oversight of the delegate which leads to a ‘sink or swim’ situation.
Neither of these leadership behaviours is empowering their team members.
The first is the control freak, the micro-manager, who cannot take their hands of the wheel. These leaders are often very busy and therefore unavailable as they personally drive the teams’ outcomes to fruition. The second is often perceived as absent when needed, appearing only when the situation has reached a crisis point which needs a firm hand and rescuing.
Empowering delegation is tailored to the individual and leads to fulfilling ownership. When staff truly ‘own’ the desired outcome and are given the requisite authority, they experience a sense of empowerment, motivation, engagement and belonging as a contributing member of the team.
Of course, leaders must build control indicators into each delegation. These indicators represent key pieces of data which the delegate provides on a regular basis to demonstrate that the desired outcomes are on track and being achieved. These data points assure the leader and provide a basis for coaching the delegate to continually improve in their role.
Andrew Jones
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Andrew Jones, our Lead Consultant, is passionate about helping leaders to succeed. Over the past twenty years, he has engaged thousands of people in Australia and internationally through his consulting roles. Andrew is a gregarious and perceptive facilitator and public speaker whose focus is improving the self-awareness, performance and ongoing effectiveness of leaders, teams and organisations.