Welcome to Friday 411, issue #126. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you’ll free up time by delegating more effectively.
1 Insight
Delegation fails when you don’t clarify the specific outcomes you need and the authority the assignee has to make decisions.
Years ago, when I (Garland) hired my first assistant, I was thrilled. Finally—I could free up my time and get stuff off my plate. On her first day, I dumped a mountain of work on her: my calendar, email, expense reports, travel—everything. Within a few days, I was getting frustrated, correcting her mistakes, and thinking, “I’ll just do this myself. She’s not going to do it the right way.”
Over the years, I’ve hired several more assistants. I had the exact same issues. Finally, I faced the harsh reality: My assistants were not the problem. I was.
I handed off buckets of responsibilities without defining the outcome or the authority they had to make decisions. I wasn’t delegating. I was abdicating—hoping they would intuitively understand what I wanted and needed.
When you practice abdication instead of delegation, you set up a system of frustration and failure.
Delegation is one of the most important skills you can learn to free up your Capacity. In the Unleashed Leadership framework, seven traits—Character, Competence, Capacity, Clarity, Community, Culture, and Consistency—solve 95% of company challenges. Delegation sits where Capacity and Clarity meet. The more you delegate, the greater time, energy, and attention you have to concentrate on your most important work.
We’re going to walk you through seven questions you can answer to delegate more effectively. But before we do that, let’s look at why delegation fails.
Why Delegation Fails
In our work with leaders, we’ve found an uncomfortable truth. Most failed delegation is not because the person you delegated to did not complete their assigned tasks well. Delegation usually fails because the delegator (i.e. the leader) didn’t delegate well. I set up many an assistant to fail because of my poor delegation habits.
Most failed delegation comes down to two gaps:
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- You don’t clarify what the person is responsible to achieve.
- You don’t tell that person how much authority he has.
When these two communication pieces are fuzzy, people either freeze up to avoid mistakes or they have to guess what you want. The first response slows down the work, while the second results in mistakes you have to fix.
To close these two gaps, slow down for 15 minutes and answer seven questions. Your answers define the outcome and the authority to unable your teammate to move fast without guessing.
The Seven Questions That Make Delegation Work
Use these questions any time you hand off meaningful work—whether it’s a one-hour task or a six-month project. By answering them, you tell the person what they own and how much ownership they have. As we walk through the seven questions, we’ll use a simple example: Leader, Amy, delegating travel planning for a trip to upstate New York to her assistant, Jody.
1) What is the objective?
Write one to two sentences that tell the person exactly what they’re trying to accomplish.
Example: Secure and communicate all travel logistics for the upcoming trip to upstate New York.
2) Why is this objective important?
What will happen if you don’t accomplish this objective? In a few sentences, explain why it matters—how it benefits people and what’s at stake if it’s not completed.
Example: I need someone else to figure out travel details to free my mind to prepare for client needs.
3) What must be true for you to succeed?
These are your success criteria. List exactly what needs to be accomplished in order for this project to succeed.
Example:
(1) Hotel, flights, and car rental secured and confirmed.
(2) Build an itinerary for every day with details about time, location, and any important details.
(3) Review the itinerary with me before the trip.
(4) Expense report compiled, reviewed, and submitted within 72 hours of returning from the trip.
4) What is the deadline for completion?
Determine the due date. If it’s a recurring responsibility, let the person know how often it recurs.
Example: October 10 (within 72 hours of returning from the trip).
5) Who is the person responsible?
Decide who needs to do it after you’re clear on what needs to be done. You may find that the person you were originally thinking about delegating to might not be the best person for the job.
Example: Jody, my assistant.
6) What degree of ownership does the person have?
How much authority do they have in making decisions and taking actions? There are five degrees of ownership (credit—Michael Hyatt):
- Compliance: Do exactly what I say.
- Options: Research or think about the options; tell me what they are; I decide.
- Recommendation: Research or think about the options; make a recommendation, but I decide.
- Inform: Do it; just tell me what you did.
- Autonomy: Do it. I don’t need to know about it.
Example: Degree 4 — Inform. Make decisions about hotel, flights, and car rental. Just let me know what you decided.
7) What are the next accountable actions?
Schedule the next check-in and state what must be completed by then. (Even better if they tell you what they will complete by then.)
Example: Because this is Degree 4, Jody will set the first checkpoint and state deliverables (e.g., draft itinerary and proposed bookings) and put a 15 minute review on Amy’s calendar before purchasing.
Why Clear Delegation Helps Both of You
Precise delegation takes stress off of you and the person you’re assigning tasks to.
For them, they understand exactly what they’re responsible to achieve and how much decision-making authority they have. This helps them work faster and feel respected.
For you, you can stop being the bottleneck to so many projects. People don’t ping you for every answer, and you correct fewer mistakes. This frees you up to concentrate on the work that only you can do.
Clear outcomes and authority reduce rework and speed decisions. That’s more Capacity for you and more growth for them.
1 Action
Choose one responsibility you’re still holding. Write the seven answers, select the degree of ownership, and hand it off today. Put a 15-minute checkpoint on the calendar—then let your teammate lead.