A+ Coaching

Delegating critical tasks is nerve racking and executive directors will be in the hot seat if not done correctly and on time. So how do we feel more comfortable in assigning key tasks?

I was horrible at this for years. I would delegate and then get nervous and do it myself, frustrating my staff and tearing down trust. Then I tried an opposite tactic. I delegated and if it wasn’t done to my expectation, I would come down hard on staff – to the point of even terminating positions. You can imagine how well that worked. Holding people accountable when the delegation process sucked is where my breakdown occurred. Let me explain.

I move fast. I am at “z” before I even share a full sentence with my staff.  I create my own delegation problems.  (Boy, did I hate that realization when my coach brought that up…what?) “Slow down”,  she said. I responded with I didn’t have time to slow down. I am so overwhelmed, have so much to do, have expectations and deadlines that keep me up at night and you want me to slow down. YIKES! Plus, I hired good people and just expected them to do their jobs. Her response…no excuses.  Slow down!  Those words took more exploration with my coach. While I knew it made sense, I didn’t know how to pull it off. Slow down to speed up. Try it, it works. Wow, when I actually slowed down and answered that email with something besides yes or no, when I actually shared the whole task and the why behind it, when I set timelines and expectations, I received results more closely to what I wanted. My brain was super hard to train to do this type of delegating, especially under pressure, and I would default to quick orders.  I had to reach out to my staff for help in slowing me down and asking them to set their boundaries to not accept an assignment until I made it clear and understandable to them as to what I was expecting.

While it is still a work in progress, I wanted to share some things I discovered.

Expectation, trust and boundaries are critical to delegating.

1. I needed to focus on slowing down and explaining more fully what I wanted, when I expected it and when to check in to help me resist jumping in. I worked to create an expectation that each member is a valued part of the successes and the failures of our team. I let them know I had confidence in them and expected great things from every one I hired. Through the years I have come to realize that if we expect great things from a team, they produce. If we micro-manage and think we are the only ones that can create great things, they live up to that as well. As leaders, we set that expectation far more loudly than we think we do. Our confidence comes across in actions and body language. As a leader, I must own my role in the success and failure of delegation by doing my part to clearly define the task, be willing to take some risk in a different approach to the task, and having their backs when something fails.
2. I am often amazed when leaders whine about staff failure as if they have never failed at anything themselves.  I just want to look at them and say, “Get over yourself.” Of course we fail.   I have a master’s degree in it! How do you think we learn?

“Leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance. The leader’s attitude sets the tone for the entire team. When we blame others, team members follow suit.”  (Extreme Ownership, Joco Willink and Leif Babin) A mentor really helped me understand this dynamic.   When a staff member fails, don’t just dig in and fix it.  Engage them by asking for one or two possible solutions. Guide them and you will marvel at how well they learn and gain confidence as a solution is implemented. This incredible gift helps staff accept risk and failure as a part of growth. It clearly communicates they can trust you to be an ally. The culture becomes how do we fix rather than who do we blame. It starts with us as leaders!

3. Why do you need to know and handle everything? Creating healthy boundaries with staff and boards is very important in delegating for one key reason, it supports expectations. For example, if I always solve problems no matter how tiny, it becomes an expectation. Have you ever received one of those calls where you thought, “Really? No one else can figure that one out?” It is too easy for both staff and board members to throw everything at you when you lack boundaries. Take the time to create boundaries – personally and professionally.

Delegating makes an organization stronger. Too many times to count, I have shared my greatest middle of the night idea, only to have them give me the stupid idea look. Yet the wheels started churning with better ideas forthcoming when I simply took the next step and delegated the review of the concept. I needed to remind myself over and over that the sum is far greater than its parts. (Including my part!)

Final words to think about!!

Slow down.

Our personal insecurities, overwhelmed feelings and personal ownership of the non-profit are often the barriers of quality delegation. I once heard an executive director say that she was afraid that the staff member would take her job if she delegated too much and let him shine.  My reply was,”Keep thinking that and he will.” Are you moving too fast to delegate effectively? Are you afraid that someone will look better than  you? Are you worried that owning mistakes will make you look bad to your bosses? Find the root of why delegation isn’t working – more times than not, it will require a look in the mirror.