Or Do You Collect Other People's Problems? 

Follow These 6 Simple Steps to Become a Real Delegator 

Wikipedia tells us that delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. The person who delegated the work still remains accountable for the outcome of that work. Delegation is supposed to empower a subordinate to learn and to make decisions, i.e., it is a shift of decision-making authority from one organizational level to a lower one. Sounds good, but at this point you "control freaks" are ready to slit my wrists for sharing this stuff! However in the face of this danger, I've decided to keep going. 

One counter-productive approach to effective delegation is micromanagement, where a manager provides too much input, direction, and review of delegated work (the control freaks are now thinking, "Well, is there any other way?").  

Another dangerous approach is to not delegate at all, believing that no one does it better than you or, my personal favorite, "I don't have time to show you. It's easier if I just do it myself." One of the dark sides of "I'll do it myself" delegation I had to deal with in my career is called "upward delegation". This is when a subordinate comes to you and utters these bone chilling words "we have a problem" and your response is "I'll handle it." Regardless of what excuse you use (and make no mistake, they are excuses), you are now a victim - that's right a victim - of "upward delegation". The result: you work longer and harder, and your subordinate goes home regular time. (Sound familiar?)

Over time I learned to fight and eliminate "upward delegation" by qualifying my "open door policy" with the addition of two mandatory requirements when someone said to me "we have a problem". These two requirements are:

When you, as the leader, lay out performance expectations and stick to them, your team starts to do their homework and is better able to identify, understand, and solve their challenges. In essence, they become active participants in finding solutions. This simple approach encouraged my team to think about solutions before they raised the "red flag" and taught them not to be fearful of offering up suggestions. When your team starts to think, speak, and act in this way, they begin to grow. In addition, you have more time to focus on the strategic issues that will move your business (and you) forward. 

Poor delegation causes frustration and confusion to all of the involved parties. Or, to say it another way: when done poorly, "It can be a living hell!" It also cheats your team out of opportunities to develop their skills, which ultimately hurts you, your team, and your organization. 

So how do you get started on the road to becoming an effective delegator? First and foremost, you're going to have to break out of your comfort zone and be willing to change. After that, following these 6 simple steps will get you going in the right direction: 

1. Define the task, describe clearly what the output needs to be 

2. Delegate to a person with demonstrated competence 

3. Explain the task clearly, in writing if necessary 

4. Invite/encourage questions and feedback 

5. Give a schedule and deadline for completion 

6. Periodically inspect what you expect 

A warning: the first time you follow this approach, it may not go as smoothly as you might hope. That's OK. Learn from the bumps in the road and apply that knowledge to the next time. Guess what? The next time may not go smoothly either. Just don't quit on this or yourself. Keep working at it and you will eventually master it.  

Delegation, done the right way (and you can do it the right way), is one of the most effective tools available to a leader. So ask yourself, do you really delegate or do you just collect other people's problems? If the answer is yes, you are a "collector" then stop right now - unless you enjoy being a victim. Your career, business, and quality of life depend on it.