Delegate and Conquer: 5 Leadership Mistakes

Mistake 1. No one but you can cope with the task.

According to statistics, 7 out of 10 managers believe that only no one can cope with the task better than them. And if so, it is better to avoid dozens of rounds of approvals and edits and do everything yourself.

Only now “to lead” means to organize the work of other people (both according to etymology and according to common sense).

And while you are solving 1 problem, the team already has 5.

Stop thinking that subordinates will cope worse — why did you, in fact, hire them then?

Mistake 2. Delegated-delegated, but never delegated.

The art of delegation is not an innate skill for lazy people. It is an integral technology of effective management with its own principles and procedures. For example, managers often think they are setting goals but are essentially sharing ideas.

“Competitors have launched a mobile application, it would be nice for us too!”

There is no guide to action, this is informational stuff. And only a very motivated and super-professional employee can pick it up (and picking it up doesn’t mean bringing it to the end).

Another example:

“Get into the field of mobile applications!”

It would seem that there is even a verb in the wording — go and study. But what did you put into this appeal? Analysis of competitors’ positions in terms of application virality indicators? Budget planning? Be specific and explain. Introduce a goal to a subordinate, break it down into steps and tasks. And remember — the goal must be realistic and the resources required to achieve it are measurable. In general, SMART will help you.

Mistake 3. The wrong way to communicate.

When setting tasks, it is important to choose a psychologically correct way of communicating with a subordinate in order to subsequently avoid overt or covert sabotage. Demonstrate trust and confidence that the employee is able to handle the task. Involve him in decision-making — it will be easier to accept the delegated task as yours.

Learn to separate when you yourself are to blame for the fake, and when it is the performer. If he ignored the detailed plan of action you proposed (although there were all the necessary resources and authority for this) — this is one story; if you gave vague instructions or did not control the execution in time, this is different.

Calmly accept mistakes and help correct them, criticize them ethically.

Error 4. Task-bingo.

Reverse delegation is a situation when employees return the task assigned to them to the manager. The reasons can be different: from the banal lack of self-confidence of the performer to the desire to amuse the pride of the boss who wants to be “needed”. It is also dangerous if you do not know how to say “no” in time in response to a request for help. After all, this way you find yourself in a zone of additional stress and may not have time to complete your own affairs.

To prevent such manipulations, specify:

• What is the problem? Can the employee articulate it clearly?
• What are the consequences of the complexity that has arisen?
• What resources are missing for the solution?
• What are the solution options?
• Which solution does the employee consider optimal and why?

Mistake 5. Trust, do not check.

It happens like this: both the task is set competently, and your employee is executive, but “research of the mobile applications market” has remained somewhere on the desktop (not yours). Either you forgot to check the intermediate result in time, or the employee in the process of implementation had questions that did not allow moving on — it doesn’t matter anymore. The important thing is that you have failed one of the fundamental functions of management.

After all, control is not so much a check as a well-tuned (by you) process of regular interactions with an employee. And it is this interaction that moves the project forward: consistently, with regular feedback, without rush jobs and disrupted deadlines.