Delegation

The Webster definition of delegation is the assignment of responsibility and authority to another.

Among the reasons why we fail to delegate to others is the fear of losing control or that someone else may do a better job or a worse job. Another is impatience and the un- willingness to take the time to teach or coach another person. And yet delegation done in the right way benefits all concerned: The one delegated to grows by handling new responsibility, the larger entity benefits as things are done more efficiently, and the leader is freed up to focus on what only he should be doing. One big error that I am prone to fall into is the failure to empower (provide with authority) others to get done what I give them to do. Without adequate authority people can feel used and frustrated. Another error of which I can be guilty is the tendency to abdicate instead of delegate. In this case, I dump responsibility on to others to get it off my plate rather than passing it on to them for the benefit of them and/or the organization. What lessons have you learned about delegation? How have you determined what things you should delegate to others versus keeping on your plate?

Decision Making

Leadership necessitates that decisions be made, and how a leader goes about that is a reflection of his/her leadership style. Dictatorial leaders tend to reserve decisions for themselves, viewing themselves as having a market on wisdom & truth. They show limited confidence in others to make decisions, and as a result the growth of others is limited. Servant leaders, on the other hand, while recognizing that certain decisions can only be made by them, involve others in key decisions as much as possible. Viewing themselves as developers of people, they provide people with both the opportunities and the space to make appropriate decisions. At the same time, they are willing to make the tough calls rather than pushing them off on others or avoiding them in the hopes that the need will go away. It seems to me that the factors that play into entrusting others with the authority for this responsibility are trust and proven capability with smaller responsibilities. How have you addressed the challenges associated with decision making in your arena? How do you determine which decisions should be made only by you without the input of those whom you lead?

Corporate Culture

In his book, The Top Ten Mistakes that Leaders Make, Hans Finzel defines corporate culture as the way insiders behave based on the values and group traditions they hold. He presents some excellent ideas on the topic. George Barna does likewise in his recent book Master Leaders. In my own experience, I have discovered that the biggest issue affecting culture is that of values. A huge challenge for me has been determining existing values when I enter an organization and from those which need to be preserved, eliminated or replaced—and how quickly. For example, in one situation I discovered that the concept of compassion, which was so vital to our organization, had to be redefined. Then over a period of time the new definition had to be implemented and modeled, so that it would become part of the fabric of the culture. What have you learned about organizational culture from your experience?