To Delegate, does not mean to throw the baby in the sea and watch it swim.
Instead, it’s a deliberate and strategic process where you invest some time upfront but reap hours free in the back.
A process where you go through four stages..giving more and more responsibility, authority and discretion to your staff through every step of the journey.
While demanding increasing accountability from them in the process.
Stage 1: Holding their Hands.
This is the time investment part of the process.
Here you tell them what to do, why it needs to be done, and how to do it.
You are there walking with them every step of the way to ensure they are doing it correct and to your specficiations.
Once you feel they know “their footwork” to blocking and tackling you go to the next stage.
Stage 2: Think like a leader
Here you don’t tell them what to do and how to do it.
Instead you give take the training wheels off and push them to see how they ride the bikd.
This is where when they come across an issue you don’t tell them how to solve it.
Instead, you ask them to take responsibility for identifying the problem and to present to you the possible solutions and which they would select and why.
Here the managers begin to separate themselves from the followers.
Because here is where they present different choices of what to do and what they would recommend and why.
So you get an idea who could handle ambiguity and who gets it when it comes to consistently delivering the value you want delivered.
But you’re still involved to ensure they don’t go off on a wild goose chase and you can correct them if they’re about to do something wrong.
Stage 3: Check in with Air Traffic Control.
Here you take the managers from Stage 2 and let them take the drivers seat.
They take over the day to day operations of their area but like a pilot who checks in with different air traffic towers on the route during his flight, you also ask them to check in with you on a consistent scheduled basis (say a status meeting every 2 weeks or month).
Stage 4: It’s all Yours – Get it done…
Here they are doing the day-to-day business of their area and handling almost all the aspects.
You are keeping an eye on how they run the system and processes in their area but in general you only want them to bother you if something is going wrong or they need your insight on something.
This is the end stage most people think about when it comes to delegation.
And it’s the point where you can fully focus your time on your highest priorities – wherever they may be.
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