SMARTER Delegation as a Leader

By: Henning Schcwinum, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Vendux LLC

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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This week I am honored to have Henning Schwinum as my guest writer. He has great thoughts to share on SMARTER Delegation as a Leader!

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Delegation is a core element of successful leadership in companies large and small.

Good delegation saves time, develops people, grooms a successor, and motivates. It provides growth and development opportunities and allows a leader to focus on other priorities.

Poor delegation, on the other hand, will cause you frustration, demotivates and confuses the other person, and fails to achieve the task or purpose itself. Delegation often fails for a number of reasons: lack of clarity, the preparation and resources available to the delegate, and choosing the wrong person in the first place.

As such, delegation is a management skill and a business process that's worth improving. It is a series of deliberate actions or motions leading to results. It is not a gutfeel, spur-of-the-moment type activity.

Let’s start with what to delegate. When deciding, use the same rule you apply for goal setting: SMART or SMARTER.

1. Specific
   
2. Measurable
   
3. Agreed
   
4. Realistic
5. Time-bound
6. Ethical
7. Recordable
   

Then, have a clear understanding between yourself and the delegate because every time you delegate work, three core elements of delegation are in play. (1) Authority, (2) Responsibility, and (3) Accountability form an integrated process and must be applied as a unified whole.

1. Authority Can Be Delegated

As a leader, you can transfer pieces of your formal authority to another teammate when assigning a task to that person. In essence, you can deputize your teammate to take action on your behalf within the boundaries of the delegated (transferred) authority.

2. Responsibility Cannot Be Delegated, but It Can Be Assigned

As a leader, you can assign responsibility to another teammate in terms of the results that need to be achieved. However, you need to keep in mind that you only assigned responsibility to your teammate. You can never entirely hand off any of your responsibilities to someone else. Assigned responsibility should be made in terms of the goals or results to be accomplished, not the detailed specifics for doing the job.

3. Accountability

Accountability is the moral compulsion felt by a teammate to meet the goals and objectives of an assigned task. As a result of accepting a task assignment, your teammate, in effect, gives you a promise—either expressed or implied—to do their best in carrying out the activities associated with it. Having taken on the task, your teammate is obligated to complete it and thus is held accountable by you for the results produced.

And for start-ups and smaller, growth-minded businesses Amy Volas has some very encouraging news:

“Every single scaling company will reach a point where delegation is essential for future growth. …if you can truly empower the brilliant people you've surrounded yourself with to offset what's bogging you down while providing them with a chance to take on more, learn, grow, and thrive, the returns will be tenfold.”

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Contracting an interim or fractional executive is an act of delegation. I encourage you to reach out to Henning to find out how he and his team can make you successful.

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Derwin Dexter Sy – Why Is Delegation So Hard?
LeadingBlog – The 3 Core Elements of Delegation
Amy Volas – Why Delegation Isn’t an Option, But a Necessity in Sales Leadership

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Click the button below to reach out to Henning!

Contact Henning

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