Delegating Disaster: Uncovering Barriers
Delegating hinges on the way you see yourself.
Leadership is about people. First, it’s about you. Then it’s about others. Finally, it’s about getting stuff done.
Barriers To Delegating:
#1. Fear:
Delegating is entrusting. When fear drives you, delegating feels stupid.
Bob Chapman said, “Trust is given, not earned.” Trust enables people to rise. Extend trust with accountability. Never delegate to novices when failure is catastrophic.
#2. Helping:
Compassion goes wrong when you do people’s jobs for them. You hired the wrong people when they consistently fall short.
You teach people to depend on you instead of each other when your first response is doing something for people.
Leaders who help too quickly are despised by the people they help. We resent those who treat us like we’re incompetent.
You never bring out someone’s best when you suggest they are inadequate.
- Don’t help too quickly.
- Don’t help too much.
- Don’t help too long.
#3. Guilt:
It’s troubling to delegate when you can’t put weight on people. Focus on their aspirations, not your guilt.
Put weight on people so they can shine. People enjoy stepping up when it serves their aspirations.
Don’t guess about people’s workload. Say, “I’d like to discuss a new responsibility for you.” Ask, “On a scale of 1:10 how’s your stress level?”
The second question is more powerful than the first. After they give you a number, ask, “What level of stress brings out your best?”
Never feel guilty about giving opportunities for others to shine.
#4. Skill:
Promotions are earned when you do the job better than others. Your team seems less competent than you. (The higher you go the less true this is.)
Delegating is about learning and growth. Give people a chance to hone their skills. Make room for failure that leads to improvement.
What makes delegating hard for leaders?
What added barriers to delegating do you see in yourself? In others?
Still curious:
7 Things Successful Leaders Never Delegate
Top 5 Reasons Why Executives Don’t Delegate
