Delegation: Why it matters
Workload is right up there in terms of senior leader’s core concerns.
I have been running a poll this week on LinkedIn about the hours they start work. ‘Before 7am’ has proven to be a very popular option.
When I talk to people who do not work in similar jobs they can struggle to get the concept. I hear comments such as
That must be a one off right? Right?!?
I suppose that is not so bad when you claim the time back and have a day off (followed by) what do you mean there is no time in lieu?
They must have to get up really early! I imagine it must mess with your life (yes, yes it does).
It must be shift work! (It might feel like it, but no it isn’t)
For many it is standard practice. After all, how else to get through the things to do list?
I say that rhetorically. Your things to do list is your responsibility. Sure, others can add to it and events can take it over completely. Most of the time though it is yours to oversee, and within that lies a myriad of decisions large and small.
Why does delegation matter?
It is a simple question but it is not asked often enough.
Here’s four key reasons why it matters so much.
1. You need your thinking time
It is very easy to fill every spare minute with pre-planned tasks. Clear that inbox, write that letter, have that meeting. And so on.
Nothing wrong with it of course, all part of the job.
When ‘completing tasks’ becomes 100% of your time though, you have a problem.
To lead, you need space. Your key challenges need thorough analysis, often in batches of time over a sustained period and not as another item to tick off from a list. Deep thinking cannot be wedged between answering a few emails and sorting out your in-tray. It is another mode of thought that requires time and a clear mind to access.
You might realise that the key challenge is actually something else, several layers below. Toyota had good reasons why they sought ‘five levels of why’ before they might consider they got to the root of an issue, and even then would do so in a group setting.
I used to make sure I had extended periods of time in my diary blocked out, often for nothing in particular. On many occasions I did fill it with urgent things that needed doing which did not require much thinking power. But when I did give myself the ‘luxury’ I could really get into the detail, and often prevent many future hours of wasteful work focusing on the wrong issue.
2. Succession planning
Effective delegation puts decision-making and strategic work in the hands of your future leaders. It offers experience which is hard to find elsewhere.
If you really want your staff to gain ‘real-world’ experience then you need to give it to them. They might work out that giving it to them means less to do for you, but delegation does not mean letting go. The actual decision can still rest with you, but scoping out the pros and cons and the associated issues with each can go elsewhere.
Delegation is often another form of professional development, including when it is done on the spot. The important telephone call that has to be taken, the unexpected visitor or meeting which needs to be handled. On a more significant scale is the disciplinary investigation where the leader might normally prefer to handle it but they need to be separate to ensure a fair process, so others get the opportunity.
Succession planning is often thought of as a process which is drawn out over time with a plan in place. Sometimes the world does not work that way and people have to step up (or ‘act up’) with no notice or warning. When they do, the lessons learned from the issues which were delegated to them previously will come in very handy.
3. Encourage innovation
If you want new ideas coming through then the limited lens of senior leadership will eventually run out of producing them. Assuming that the freshest thinking can only be generated by those with the most responsibility is a mistake. Asking for input from others for whom the buck does not stop can be invigorating.
When staff have new and unexpected problems to solve they will think creatively about how to solve them. Even following a similar process in a different order or from another angle can produce better solutions.
In turn this can encourage a spirit of innovation with positive side-effects, as the newly-acquired confidence and problem solving skills are applied to other aspects of work.
Diversity is usually thought about in terms of ethnicity, gender or other protected characteristics. It is rarely considered in terms of diversity of thought. Throwing problems out there to a wider group of people not only encourages new perspectives but also synergies between those who are looking at them.
4. Develop productivity and efficiency
Delegation is usually taken to mean that a task or area of responsibility you would normally do yourself is given to someone else.
Yet, in theory at least, CEOs have responsibility for everything. If there were no other members of the senior team they would have responsibility for every direct report and every aspect of the organisation’s work. By appointing a senior team in the first place, the process of delegation is already underway.
Too often this is where the process stops. People are put in charge but only nominally as the person above does their job for them. Tasks are delegated to the person who should be doing them, but then completed by the manager before the direct report has an opportunity to get to it. The hard stuff always stays at the top, ‘strategy’ becomes the prerogative of a tiny group.
Ultimately this is neither productive nor efficient. It can also set off a chain reaction of decisions taken at the wrong level by the wrong people. A culture of duplication sets in that every task needs two (or more) people, not least when leaders do what the staff could handle. The inefficiency is staggering.
Delegation can lead to faster completion and turnaround times. When a project is given to someone highly enthusiastic about doing it, and who is astute about checking back, they can unleash a ton of energy which otherwise would be wasted.
Remember that
Your workload will not go down unless you take less on, are given less to do or give more of it to others. Within the first and third of these options lies a lot of choice.
Until you delegate more you will not get to find out how else you could have used that time, and to what level of productivity.
The next blog will focus on how to delegate, and to whom.
How can I help you?
1. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps!
2. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
3. Talks, workshops and seminars - including topics relevant to the two areas above plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X.
