Stop hoarding responsibility. Share it and see what happens!

Many aspiring leaders I work with have a lot of responsibilities. Trouble is, things get messy, and some are hanging on to things they would be far better off sharing around.

Effective delegation is a key to good leadership. It means that you are making the highest possible value contribution to the organisation. It also means that you are sharing your corporate knowledge and giving others the opportunity to step up. The biggest benefit though, is that it creates some time and space for 'leadership stuff' that you otherwise may not get to. 

Simple exercise: Take a clean sheet of paper and write down all of your current tasks and responsibilities. Now, put a tick next to those that only you can do. Put a cross next to those that someone else in the organisation could do. Identify five tasks on the list that you are going to delegate to others.

Use this system (CREST) to effectively delegate the tasks to others.

Context: First, explain the 'why' or big picture overview to the task. Why is it important?
Result: Be specific about the outcome you want. What does success look like?
Enquiry: What information does the person need to know in order to successfully complete the task?
Support: What support or assistance do you need to offer or give?
Timeframe: Be specific about when the job needs to be done by.

A bonus tip to ensure effective delegation is follow up. This will depend on how experienced and competent your people are, but let them know you are there to help them succeed.

What high value leadership tasks are you now going to focus on?

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME TO LET SOMEONE GO?

That was the question asked by a member of the audience to Wayne Bennett at a corporate lunch I attended in 2012. Wayne shared a lot of stories and ideas that he has used over the years in becoming Rugby League's most successful coach. The largely business crowd seemed comfortable with adapting his football philosophies to their own business contexts.

But surely this question, whatever the super coach answered, couldn't apply equally to the two worlds? His answer was simply this...

"You should let people go as soon as you are aware that they are no longer trying to improve."

Wayne Bennett

Was Bennett advocating that the business people present return to work and sack everyone who wasn't showing signs of improvement? Of course not, but as leaders we should take a leaf out of his book. He creates a culture where his players know that he expects them to constantly strive for improvement.

We should communicate to our people that there is an expectation that they are committed to both individual and organisational improvement. In addition, we need to provide opportunities and guidance so that improvement can occur.
 
What would it be like in your organisation if you clearly established an expectation that everyone is committed to and engaged in both personal and collective growth and development? What would happen if you backed that up with opportunities to do just that? My guess is, more success.