Pass Your Batons to Win

It was the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.  The American men's 400-meter relay team was in contention for the gold medal.  Superstar sprinter Tyson Gay reached back to grab the baton on the final handoff in their preliminary race, "and there was nothing."

The American women's 400-meter relay teams also misconnected on the final handoff in their preliminary race, mirroring the men's shocking defeat.  For the first time in Summer Games history, the U.S. left an Olympics 0-for-6 in the sprint races:  both men's and women's 100s, 200s and 400 relays.  (ESPN)

Have you ever "passed someone the baton" and your "race" was not the winner you expected?

Translation: Have you ever delegated responsibility to someone and the results were less than you expected?

Delegation.  The dreaded "D" word.

Stunning setbacks can be a motivator for GREAT Leaders to review and improve their process for delegating work. 

Delegation takes Systematic Power, the first strand of 3strands LEADERSHIP.  Delegating work is a system, not just a quick directive with assumptions from a superior.  Effective delegation is based on a process of transferring responsibilities between capable team members to achieve mutually agreed upon results by following your organization's best practices.

And... best practices take practice and systems, or your baton drops.

Take a moment to assess where there may be a baton drop in your delegating.  Are you delegating enough?  Are you delegating effectively?  Or are you avoiding delegating because it's just easier to do something yourself?  (Bad choice)

Here are the 7 steps of effective delegation I teach in our Certified LEADER course:

1. The mutual objective
2. The problem
3. The team
4. Authority & expectations
5. Resources required
6. Communication
7. Deadlines

You are the delegator.  The person or people receiving the task are the delegatee.

Step #1 of 7:  The Mutual Objective

• Is the objective clearly defined, measurable, and have due dates?

• Have you helped the delegatee understand that receiving the task is not the end goal, but rather they are a steward of the responsibility, so a greater goal is achieved?

• Have you engaged the "second brain" - the heart of the delegatee so the work is meaningful to them?

• Are you reinforcing the mutual objective often?

Step #2 of 7:  The Problem

• Is everyone clear about the problem that is trying to be solved before and during the work that has been delegated? 

• Is the cost of not solving the problem clear?

• Are the benefits of solving the problem defined?

• Are the process and/or new habits to put in place to avoid the problem in the future defined, or mutually sought?

Step #3 of 7:  The Team

• Does each delegatee realistically have the time to do it well?

• Did you encourage the delegatee by explaining the reason why they were chosen?

• Have you explained how the delegatee will benefit from completing the task with excellence?

• What training do delegatees need to complete the task well?

Step #4 of 7:  Authority & Expectations

• Does the delegatee have authority that matches their responsibilities?

• Who is the team leader if there is more than one delegatee?

• Are any approval processes clear, and in-writing?

• Are behavioral expectations between you and the delegatee clear, and preferably in-writing?

Step #5 of 7:  Resources Required

• What subject matter experts or other people are available to support the delegatee?

• Where can the delegatee work and/or do they need help securing meeting locations?

• Does the delegatee have all the equipment and materials necessary to complete the task?

• Have the funding, outside services, other necessary activities been secured?

Step #6 of 7:  Communication

• Is there a clearly defined follow-up schedule when the delegatee will communicate status to you?

• Have you defined a schedule when you will touch base with the delegatee, especially if they miss their deadline to update you on the status?

• What is the schedule to inform others?

• Is the platform in place to track their progress, whether ConnectWise, SharePoint, Dropbox...?

Step #7 of 7:  Deadlines

• Are there due dates / milestones with clear deliverables?

• How are the dates being tracked?

• Are the milestones in the best order of priority?

• Have you defined what happens when a deadline is missed, and should that occur, are you prepared to ask questions, be respectful, and then act decisively?

This may seem like a lot, but once you get it in place it flows easily. Learn how to delegate effectively. Put the Systematic Power of process in place. Test, refine, improve your delegation systems. Teach them and grow.