Delegate - Don't Abdicate

Type “how do I delegate” into any search engine, and you will find a long list of articles, blogs, and research around this key time management technique. It is the only time management tool guaranteed to actually give you time, it should lower stress and increase your productivity. Yet, we don’t do it. Sometimes when I talk to people, it becomes apparent that they are concerned that delegating, will result in their position, role in the company being redundant. If everyone else is doing their work, why are they needed? That is when I remind them, we are delegating…not abdicating! The word “abdication” is most frequently used when talking about royals. Edward VIII of England famously abdicated his throne in 1936 for the love of an American socialite. Those of with slightly less royal blood, don’t necessarily think of being in a position to abdicate.  However, when we assume that we are going to have nothing to do, because we have delegated away all our work…that is exactly what we are doing. This is abdication! This is 'failure to fulfill a responsibility or duty." When you delegate, and delegate well, you don’t fail to do what is required; you are simply achieving it with the use and assistance of others. So, how does one delegate without abdicating?

You Provide the Agenda – One of the tasks that Task It 2 ME performs on a regular basis for clients is shopping. Some clients have 100% delegated their grocery list to us – each week, we stock their fridge and cupboards. However, they set the agenda, or more simply put, they provide the list. It would be silly for us to shop for them without a list, randomly guessing at what they want, need and can afford. When you delegate a task to someone, you are still in charge of the agenda. What is the task? Is there a budget for said task? Are their deadlines? With the delegation of this task, your responsibility shifts from doing the task, to the management of the task’s agenda.

You Participate in the Process - If you abdicate, you are done. Out of there. No one called Edward VIII to discuss issues of the royal court. His opinion no longer mattered. When a leader delegates they are willing to step back in and lend a hand; guide the work along. I like to think about this with my daughter making her bed. At the beginning of 1st grade, I delegated this daily chore to her. While I won’t take the primary responsibility of making her bed back onto my plate; I do pinch hit from time to time – like when sheets need to be changed, or when she has them particularly tangled up. When you delegate to your team, you need to let them know that coming back to ask for help is OK; even encouraged. You are not like Edward VIII, who ceased to participate.

Your Tasks shift, they do not disappear – When you delegate a task, you may think, “Ok, I am out!” However, really you have simply shifted your task; the new task may be less time consuming which allows you more time for other things, but you still do have some sort of responsibility.  A great example of this is back in banking days when I would work with Head Tellers on coaching their teams. As the manger, it was my responsibility to make sure that all tellers had one-on-ones and received regular feedback. However, this was a task that I delegated to my Head Teller. As her coach, I would participate in the meetings, in order to give her feedback on her management style, coaching techniques and delivery. I went from coaching 8 people, to 1 – so my work load lessened, allowing me to do other things; but it did not go completely away.

A few years ago, I worked with a client who aimed to be on the golf course every day. He didn’t want to be working his business – he was going to “delegate” everything to his staff. This was pure abdication! If he followed through, I would fear that he would see that his business struggle and he would fail to meet the responsibilities and expectations of his clients. I actually had the difficult task of sharing with him that both his clients and his team were feeling that he his approach created a feeling that he just didn't care. His clients wondered, "why hire, him?" He was not doing the work. Thi delegation on steroids, or abdication, had done exactly what many feared, made him redundant or not needed; or at least created that perception. However, if you delegate correctly, keeping yourself in the game appropriately, you can truly reap the rewards of delegation!