Can’t Delegate? You’re Not Alone.

I was recently reviewing a 360-assessment report with a client.  Two things came up as areas for improvement – delegation and developing others.

He’d heard the feedback about delegation before.  Usually it came as a command from his manager:  “Just give your people the work that you don’t have time to do!”  He wanted to comply, but he felt his direct reports weren’t capable of doing his work, so he kept it for himself.

In our conversation I focused first on how he developed his people.  I asked him two questions:

Who are the one or two direct reports you’d like to develop?
How might you do that?

In answering these questions, he said,  “I’d have them attend some key cross-functional meetings with me so they can grow their understanding of the business. I want them to be able to assimilate information and respond appropriately.”

“What’s the impact of this?” I asked.

“I don’t have to make all the decisions and go to all the meetings.” Then he laughed and said, “Ok, I get it.  Ignoring their development means I can’t delegate.  They clearly go hand-in-hand.”

Very often delegation and development are connected.  Of course, there are people who are ready for the delegated work, but with development those folks can be even more successful.

So when you think about developing your people as a time-consuming “nice-to-do,” think again.  As their skills grow, you can delegate more and in turn focus on work that builds your business and grows your own career.  The energy you invest in developing others benefits both of you.  It’s clearly a win-win.