I coach many leaders who don’t understand how involved they should be with their team’s effort. In fact, most leaders I deal with are way too involved in the trenches of what their team is working on. I can’t blame them though, it’s a hard balance to know how much or how little involvement a leader should have with their team’s production. Balancing the art of delegation and dedication is a confusing act for most. So let me share with you how you should perform as an effective delegating leader.

When leaders get too involved in things they shouldn’t be involved in, it hinders productivity and limits their effectiveness. But without a clear target to shoot for leaders inevitably get too involved. Here is your guiding light to be more effective as a leader to your team. I’ll call it the 10-80-10 deli sandwich (deli stands for delegation, I thought is sounded fun…and I am hungry while writing this…hang with me). Here’s what it means:

10

You need to be involved in the first 10% of a project. This is where you are brainstorming with the team, working on ideas, and/or setting expectations for the project. Your team needs you to get things started right. You should use this time to communicate clearly, delegate specifically, and inspire strategically. Get your team fired up and ready to go on this new initiative. They need you to be a positive and energetic leader. Don’t underestimate the first 10%. This is where you have to become a visionary and decisive leader. Get them amped up for the game in front of them. Provide them with everything they need to be successful. Get it all out on the table and deploy them for action.

80

Now that you’ve kicked them off with the project…you let them go. Did you get that? L-E-T    T-H-E-M   G-O (in my terrible cheerleader voice and chant). Stay out of the trenches while they do what they do best. This is why you have a team. If you were to be so involved you wouldn’t need them. You have a team so you don’t have to do the actual work. You should be leveling up, focusing on what’s next, not inundated in the project. Too many leaders jump in the 80% and muddy up the waters or end up just taking over and doing most of the work themselves. But when you hi-jack the 80% you do these things:

• Surrender your time to work towards future projects.
• Limit your team’s capacity to learn and grow into self-thinking problem solvers.
• Suppress your team’s creativity and expertise.
• Devalue your team’s competence.
• Cause confusion if you don’t understand the complexities of what they’re working on.
• I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here.

Trust your team to do what they’re hired to do. If you don’t trust your team, you have a bigger problem you need to work on first. Stop getting involved in the middle 80% of what your team should be doing.

10

The last 10% of a project is when you need to jump back in. This is where your team brings you what they’ve worked on for your approval or input. This is where you can help shape the final touches on the project to get it to full capacity. Don’t be tempted to jump back in too early. Your team needs to work on the 80% before they bring it to you. Don’t let them bring you 60% and make you jump in the last 40%. Too many leaders actually operate at a 30-40-30 plan and therefore are slowing down everything. You should be there for deploy and return, not the whole journey. Remember: your team will want to bring you in by asking questions, getting feedback, asking you to do it, etc…you have to fight for them to keep at it and develop them to be doers not relying on you for everything. If you didn’t read my Ceiling Fan Leadership Effect post, check it out…it will help.

Serve 10-80-10 Deli Sandwiches and start to free up your time and capacity while allowing your team to fulfill theirs.