Don’t Delegate Until You Realize This…

When I coach leaders to level up delegation is a key topic. In fact, you can’t elevate until you delegate. Delegation is the elevator to your success and the success of those around you. After all, how can anyone level up underneath you if you aren’t raising them up to take over what you do?

Yet, in all the conversations I have with high-level leaders I realized I talk a lot about the delegator but not the delegatee. We have all kinds of resources about how to delegate and be a better delegator, but nearly none about what it takes to be a delegatee (the one recieving the work). Of course, you can only delegate as effectively as the delegatee is willing to receive the work and step up to the plate.

I have seen many leaders try to delegate and become increasingly frustrated at themselves for it not working. Many times these leaders are hard on themselves thinking they are not a good leader. We tell ourselves that surely great leaders can delegate to anyone and make it happen, so what’s wrong with me? The problem is, they are not accounting for the other person’s ability to be a delegatee. Remember, it takes two to tango. There is an old saying in education that states, “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” There has to be as much responsibility on the delegatee as the delegator when it comes to effective delegation. A delegator is only as good as the delegatee.

As I was thinking about all this sitting at Starbucks I jotted down these quick thoughts that came to mind:

So how do you train your next levels to be a better delegatee?

1) Give Them A Vision For The Future

No one wants to give it their all if they don’t feel they’ll be rewarded for it eventually. If the delegatee doesn’t see a clear vision of where they could be going they’ll not have any motivation to do more. In order for delegation to work there has to be a reward at some point. This reward could be positional change, greater authority, more compensation, etc… But make no mistake, if there is no vision for a better future there will be no motivation for a better today. Work on communicating a path for the future for your delegatees and you’ll put wind in their sails.

2) Tell Them Why You Want To Delegate

Be honest about why you want to let go and level up. People want to contribute to your success. We all have a desire to feel like we help people be better. Be open about what you want to let go of so you can grab ahold of newer projects. Let me in on your ideas for the future and why you need them to take on what you can’t anymore because of forward progress. Sidenote: if you are only delegating because you are lazy and don’t want to do it, people will sense it and become resentful. You have to fight for forward progress. Delegate because you have a vision for the future, not because you simply don’t want to do it.)

3) Have A Panic Button For Them To Push

When you delegate and push your team for more make sure they know you’ll let up if needed. Many times delegatees feel as though their leader doesn’t know how much they are being asked to do. It feels lonely and frustrating if people keep loading up on you and have no care in the world about it. You’ll be amazed at how much more people are willing to do if they just feel that you care and will back off if needed. They need to trust that you have their best interest in mind. Communicate on the front end that you will be pushing them harder than ever, but that at any moment it is to much to let you know and you’ll adjust. When there is no panic button for people to push they’ll really start to panic.

4) Be Ridiculously Patient

Awesome delegatees don’t just appear overnight. Everyone is learning how to get better (including you) so push but be patient. It takes time to develop people. It’s more of an oven when it comes to leadership and less like a microwave. You can’t just expect someone to be perfect in 30 seconds…it takes some bake time. But know that being patient doesn’t mean you lower the bar of expectation or coaching, it just means your willing to hang in there with the person. Patience is not overlooking bad performance, rather it is about working through it with people. Hold them accountable to the expectations while you keep coaching them up.

I have a whole lot more to say, but I have probably kept you too long already. I just wanted to put down some thoughts that hopefully are helpful to your journey of leveling up and learning how to delegate better. I hope it was helpful.