How to Delegate: An Important Step Towards Leadership
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| How to Delegate: An Important Step Towards Leadership |
You made an unusual discovery: There isn't enough time left at the end of the day. The implication, of course, is that your list of vital tasks will never shrink. In every organization, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to expand indefinitely.
What should a top executive do?
This isn't just a personal concern. Your company's future is dependent on what you do next. As you push your company beyond its present plateau, you must modify the way you approach your job. The move from chief chef and bottle washer (CC&BW) to CEO (source of management and corporate direction) occurs in three phases. They are:
Identifying and concentrating on your most valuable contribution to your firm.
Recognizing your leadership role and taking ownership of the work. Delegating everything else while still holding people accountable.
Previous articles, Time Well Spent and Visions of Leadership, discuss transitions one and two, respectively. This essay explores the problem of delegation—passing work away.
The Issue
You have undoubtedly determined that the next level of corporate performance necessitates a management shift. And hopefully, you've learned that the required adjustments are with you. Your responsibilities as CEO (or, on a divisional or departmental level, senior executive) include maintaining the vision, encouraging your senior management and staff, cultivating critical connections with customers, suppliers, investors, and the general public, and more.
You must now let go of certain valued tasks, such as product design, recruiting, and maybe day-to-day sales—all of which you previously handled, sometimes out of necessity—in order to concentrate on your job as CEO. What about the activities you used to do? Delegate them. Assign the work to someone else. This doesn't seem like a huge thing, so why write a whole essay on it?
Do you delegate? Of course, you do. But do you distribute crucial tasks? What do you "know" you could improve on? What activities do you feel you are "best" at? Probably not. The question is: Should you?
Your greatest valued contribution
Consider your highest-value contribution to your firm. Which of your operations generates the greatest revenue, profit, and market share? Where can you get the most bang for your dollar? Like most CEOs, your greatest power comes from organizing the forces around you, including your senior staff and workers, as well as important customers, prospects, and suppliers. In terms of importance, everything else pales in comparison.
So, the answer is yes. You should give away even your "best" skills. Then make sure they're done correctly. Ensure that they are up to specification and delivered on schedule.
The price of holding on
Now comes the difficult part. Many leaders do not delegate "critical" duties. They are concerned that the task will be done incorrectly. Or no one else can do it as fast, so it won't be completed on time. Or the proper attention will not be given. Or whatever. Or something else.
Give up! Your organization's development will be limited as long as you retain vital functions. In the same areas where you believe you are an expert, your organization will suffer!
Product design? You delay creating a critical component because you are the expert, but you are gone for a client meeting. Staffing? Since you have not signed off and are out of town attending a meeting with investment bankers, two engineers cannot be employed. Sales? Negotiations on a crucial agreement are stalled because you're in Asia speaking with a vendor.
You become the bottleneck for each of these critical activities. Of course, you get the feeling that "I have to be involved." No, you don't. The extent to which you have not prepared your employees to perform these duties will impede your company's development.
Aside from the worry that the work would not be done correctly, there is another, more sinister reason why top executives (especially entrepreneurs) do not delegate. If you aren't performing the "important" things, you will become redundant. Dead weight. Overhead. What would you do if you had a brilliant VP of Sales or Chief Technologist?
You feel this way because you haven't accomplished transitions one and two: you haven't taken the time to understand how you individually provide value to your firm, and you haven't truly embraced the job of leader. Once you've completed these transitions, you won't have time for the rest. Delegation is not abdication.
This way, many CEOs delegate. They ask, "John, would you embark on this project? It has to be completed by next Thursday. Thanks." That is it. They are then furious when the work is returned unfinished. What happened? They omitted responsibility. They ignored the system for ensuring that everything went according to plan.
There are five components to effective delegation.
1. Delegate the task to someone who can do it
This does not imply that the individual has all of the talents required for execution, but rather that they can marshal the necessary resources. Sometimes the first stage in a project is education. Perhaps your delegate needs to attend a seminar or take a course to get up to speed.
2. Communicate specific levels of pleasure
The timeframe, objectives, financial limits, and so on must all be specified. Anything less sets the conditions for failure. It's like the classic basketball story: without nets, players don't know where to shoot.
3. Create a plan
Depending on the project's complexity, the initial stage may be to create a plan. The plan should contain resources, a strategy or technique, a timetable, metrics, and milestones. Even basic undertakings need a strategy.
4. Create a mechanism for responsibility
If the project will take place over the following six weeks, set up an intermediate meeting two weeks from now. Create a weekly conference call or an e-mailed status report. Provide a method for collaboratively evaluating progress and making mid-course adjustments. This helps to keep the project and the team on track.
5. Gain buy-in
External conditions often determine timelines. Still, your delegate must agree to the work at hand. If you say, "This has to be done by next Tuesday," they must agree that it is achievable. Ask instead. "Can you have this by Tuesday?" This may seem like a simple procedure, yet it is often ignored. Whenever feasible, let your delegate determine the schedule and develop the strategy. You simply need to give direction and sign off."Never teach people how to accomplish things," General Patton once observed.. Tell them what to do, and they will wow you with their creativity."
If you neglect any of the preceding stages, you significantly lower the possibility that things will come out as you expect. On the other hand, if you strictly adhere to the instructions, your chances of success improve significantly. Isn't this more effort than doing it myself? you wonder. No, it's not.
The time required to
- Establish goals
- Review the plan
- Track progress
is not proportional to the time it takes to perform. This is how you build an advantage. This is how you can increase your efforts.
Sometimes, it takes longer to convey something than to accomplish it yourself. Delegate it anyhow. (Next time will be simpler.)
Above, I mentioned projects. This is not to argue that delegation is limited to distinct tasks and difficulties. You also distribute continuing responsibilities. The procedure is the same in each scenario.
As an exercise, ask yourself what you are hesitant to delegate. Make a list of reasons why not. Determine the best individual in your company—not you—to handle this project or role. Then, call a meeting. Begin the meeting using the first step listed above.
If there is no one to whom you may delegate critical duties, you must carefully evaluate your personnel situation. It could be time to recruit the proper personnel. If you don't have the income to fund the personnel expansion, think about what is limiting your growth.
Evaluate your connection with your assistant or secretary. Have you allowed them to take on their fair share of the work? Are you giving them enough complicated work? Are they prepared to upgrade?
Some scenarios need a return to action. Perhaps you are the only person in your firm with specific technical expertise; your perspective can speed up the design process; or you have a long-standing connection with a vendor or client. Go ahead and plunge. Do your thing momentarily, finish the job, and resume your leadership role.
Okay, one more thing
The only reason to delegate anything is to free up your time for activities that provide value to your organization. Don't compromise the recruiting function by messing with the company's website. If you spend the majority of your time buying, do not hire a sales vice president. Leading your firm provides you with the most leverage. Enjoy your time there.
Summary
You've discovered that there isn't enough time left in the day. The implication, of course, is that your list of vital tasks will never shrink. In every organization, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to expand indefinitely.