Delegating

Advice for the time-poor urges us to ‘do, delegate or dump’. Delegating wisely is a core executive skill and key to a great career. So why does ‘delegating’ for one person look like ‘do or dump’ to everyone else?

Delegating is a sophisticated task. To get a handle on how you do it, ask yourself:

• Do we trust each other enough?
• Do I want the other person to succeed, or just me?
• Is success clearly defined?
• Am I helping them to lead?
• Am I helping them to learn?
• When will I give myself permission to step back in?
• When will the other person give me permission to get involved again?
• Is the task properly resourced?
• When will we debrief?
• What feedback do I want about my leadership?

These questions are most important when delegating the big, high impact issues, but they add up to a process that will always attract top talent to support you.

Which of course is one of the secrets of success.