Please enjoy these insightful thoughts on Leadership Delegation:

“I worked with a company where the VP of sales made it clear that he would support decisions made in the field. He also made it clear that he expected everyone to act in the best interest of the customer and to be responsible to the needs of the company. Because he developed a culture of mutual trust and respect, we had highly effective sales teams and very rarely had problems. Trust and respect are essential for effective leadership delegation.”  USA

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“Good delegation seems to be several things: 1) Selecting the right person. This can be based upon a follower’s skill to carry out something, or that person’s need to develop through handling a delegated task. 2) Being clear in what is expected–making sure the follower knows what must be done/produced. 3) Supporting the follower [short of retracting the delegated item]. 4) Having a good system to follow up to ensure progress/completion.”  USA

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“The best delegators I see do five things right: 1. Pick the right person for the job 2. Delegate NOW! possibly before the delegatee is completely “ready” 3. Draw a clear picture of the results desired 4. Stand back and give them freedom to work 5. Stand up for them – and with them – if something goes wrong. Good delegators know that the more successful their people are, the more successful they will also be. Delegating right takes years. I know Presidents who still can’t do it.”  CANADA

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“It will come as no surprise to me if people respond that it is easier to come up with examples of so-called leaders not delegating well than it is to come up with examples where delegation was effectively handled. I don’t know if that is a sign that there is a particular lack of this skill in our management ranks or if it is a sign that we react so strongly when we experience situations where we are constrained in bringing our expertise and creativity to the tasks at hand. Having worked for major corporations virtually all of my 25-year career, I have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly; There have however, been a few stand-out managers who had the level of personal confidence in their own abilities to extend trust to those who worked in their employ. These were managers who were more interested in the success of the entire organization than they were in self-promotion. They were managers who took the time to understand just what knowledge, skills, and abilities their workers possessed; supplemented that knowledge by freely lending their own knowledge and expertise; provided access to needed resources; articulated their vision well; and then gave free reign to let their workers perform. Along the way, they maintained an interest in the results and offered both positive and constructive advice when needed, never stepping in to take over, and always recognizing the value of the work to the overall enterprise. The level of enthusiasm and productivity that comes out of this type of environment is phenomenal. The key element is that workers really are empowered and motivated to show that they deserve the trust that has been granted. When managers cannot delegate, I always feel that this inability is a reflection of their own insecurity. Just as effective delegation provides a tremendous boost to productivity, lack of delegation is truly crippling to an organization in many ways.”  USA

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“An executive who made a big impression on my early in my professional career exuded belief in my ability to do what he asked me to do. This had the effect of my never wanting to let him down and doing whatever was needed to get the job done. Of course, there are practical limitations to this, but interestingly, I never ran into that limitation!”  USA

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“Being in control, organized and following through on what you said you were going to do. Doing what you say you are going to do sounds so simple, yet, I have found that the majority don’t necessary always do what they say they are going to do. I think following through is one of the most important facts when it comes to effective leadership delegation.”  USA

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“With effective delegation, I can now enjoy being half way across the world whilst my teams are empowered to deliver top grade results. It is important for Leaders to learn how to “let go” and yet be “in control” of performance standards, without having to worry unnecessarily or be stressed because they are not by their teams all the time, every time. The use of some PEP tools such as the WRAP will also help leaders to understand the workloads of team members before delegating to respective individuals. The Clarity of End Results tool will also help leaders to communicate their goals effectively, providing clear directions and visions.”  SINGAPORE

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“More than a decade ago I was coaching an exec in the pharmaceutical industry. We were working on two things. One was the old adage “only do what only you can do” and the other was about briefly coordinating the team’s weekly priorities in a half-hours action planning meeting. He had the great idea to gently hand over the things that had fallen to him back to the appropriate team member during the meeting – the “follow up” on it he action point was automatically taken care of by having the next week’s AP session. It worked well for him.”  UK

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“I believe that the best delegation is the inspiring delegation. The difference between Boss and Leader is that the second one delegates not only formal tasks but also emotions.”  UKRAINE

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“I would say that making sure that the delegated task is both understood, accepted and the reason/mission for the task (placed in the whole picture) is well communicated. This increases the probability of the task being solved in a way that matches company strategy and expectations.”  NORWAY
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Thank you so very much for your contributions!