Delegation – Dan Greer

Four Leadership Traps That Prevent Accountability

Dan Greer — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:57:05 +0000

Directive leadership is not dead and there are clearly times when we need to provide close feedback to our team members. However, if we don’t fully equip and empower others, we become the lid as the leader for the entire organization.

My experience as an executive coach is most of the time the senior leader has not developed the skill set to effectively delegate and shift to a situational leadership style. The other major issue is that because of that reality, we tend to hire followers not leaders. This Forbes post hits on all of the major issues:

“Leaders in an organization wield a lot of power and responsibility. They set the tone for their team, make decisions that affect business outcomes, foster leadership in others and bear the brunt of responsibility when things go wrong.

With so much responsibility, it can be easy to fall into mental traps that prevent a leader from doing their job well and getting the outcomes they want from those they lead. The four most common traps seen at all levels of leadership are costly but can be avoided.”

How To Get Comfortable Delegating

Dan Greer — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 14:10:09 +0000

For me there have always been two major reasons leaders do not delegate. One is the desire to maintain control and wanting to be the person who gives all the answers. At its core this is a lack of leadership development for the leader not the team. The other even more serious issue is that this type of leader is more focused on getting the work done than developing the team into great leaders. This post by Sheryl Lyons is excellent:

“In his book, The Art of Being Unreasonable, Eli Broad, the only individual who has created two Fortune 500 companies in different industries, said: “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.”

I began supervising others when I was 25 years old. Because I am such a type-A workaholic and wanted to put my stamp and personal brand on everything, I found it very difficult to delegate. Eventually, my manager sat me down and asked, “Sheryl, does your husband ever load the dishwasher?” Perplexed, I responded, “Well, sure. Why?” He then asked, “Does he always do it the way you would do it?” Now I could see where this conversation was headed.”

How Leaders Can Communicate So Everyone Understands

Dan Greer — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 14:50:39 +0000

I have always been shocked to find out later that what I intended to say was not at all what was heard. Especially, when I have worked on a project for months and others are hearing it for the first time. One of the most important points in this post is to ask people what they are hearing before we move on to execution. Forbes does great work:

“One of my favorite quotes to remember as a leader is from Peter Drucker. He said, “Communication is in the mind of the recipient. You’re just making noise if the other person does not understand you.” Unfortunately, we see a lot of leaders out there who are just making noise, failing to really communicate to their teams because they are not focused on ensuring understanding.”

Three Phases Of Delegation

Dan Greer — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 20:34:10 +0000

Delegation is one of the most critical leadership skills for organizational and personal success. However, it is extremely misunderstood and the training for everyone involved is extremely inadequate. We tend to micromanage on the one extreme or assign and walk away on the other. This Forbes post is the best I have read in a long time:

“We tend to look at delegation as a transaction — the proverbial passing of the torch — when, in practice, it should be more of a continuous and collaborative process. I like to think of delegation as a meal you enjoy together with the person you are delegating to. Done properly, the “meal” has three distinct phases that contribute to an enjoyable experience for everyone involved.”

8 Ways Leaders Delegate Successfully

Dan Greer — Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:58:53 +0000

Delegation tends to follow one of two extremes. Leaders refuse to delegate because they are insecure and want to maintain control. The other extreme is to give someone an assignment without any ongoing follow up until it is too late to help. This HBR post clears up the confusion:

“In their book, Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Charles O’Reilly claim that there is mounting evidence that delegating more responsibility for decision making increases productivity, morale, and commitment, all of which impact company culture. A 2015 Gallup study of the entrepreneurial talents of 143 CEOs on the Inc. 500 list showed that companies run by executives who effectively delegate authority grow faster, generate more revenue, and create more jobs.”

The 3 Magic Questions Leaders Should Ask When Delegating

Dan Greer — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 21:28:55 +0000

There are two major mistakes leaders make when delegating. The first and by far the most prominent is not to really delegate at all. Sure tasks are assigned but responsibility with authority is not. The other extreme is to give responsibility and walk away, only to wonder later what went wrong. This Forbes post is a great process:

Too often leaders conclude their task assignment/delegation process with the most useless question on the planet , “Now, do you understand?” or the equally impotent “Any questions?” The simple truth is that both questions feel rhetorical and don’t tend to elicit any authentic feedback on the recipient’s true level of understanding or comfort with the task they’ve just been assigned.

When Empowering People Works And When It Doesn’t

Wed, 07 Mar 2018 06:00:40 +0000

Empowerment is a hot topic for most organizations and their workforce. It increases trust across the board and significantly improves the capacity of the teams to do more work effectively. However, if it becomes another branding trick to simply get more work done without investing in your people it can backfire. This HBR post is well worth the read:

“Research has regularly demonstrated that when employees feel empowered at work, it is associated with stronger job performance, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization.

Many leaders today often try to empower their employees by delegating authority and decision-making, sharing information, and asking for their input. But our recent research found that this style of leadership works best in motivating certain types of performance and certain types of employees. “Empowering” leaders should know when they can be most effective.”

Great Leaders Perfect The Art Of Delegation

Mon, 26 Feb 2018 06:00:19 +0000

One of the most misunderstood aspects of delegation is the false sense that when I delegate, I just gave up some authority when in reality you just gained capacity. You can as a leader delegate responsibilities without authority by asking the person or team to develop and recommend. When trust is built, you then can pass on the appropriate authority as well. This Coaches Council post is excellent:

As Harvard Business Review puts it, “One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading.” There’s a psychological shift to focus your attention on areas that are vital to the company and become less involved in the daily tasks. That shift can bring about fear.

Great Leaders Learn To Delegate Well

Mon, 16 Oct 2017 06:00:30 +0000

Great leaders have come to the realization that it is more important to develop people than it is to deliver results. This will empower their people to use their competencies and significantly increase the capacity of the organization. Empowerment is also directly linked to job satisfaction and a major factor in retention. This HBR post is excellent:

“One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading. As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep “rolling up your sleeves” to execute tactical assignments. But as your responsibilities become more complex, the difference between an effective leader and a super-sized individual contributor with a leader’s title is painfully evident.”

When Delegation Becomes Abdication

Mon, 28 Aug 2017 06:00:24 +0000

One universal truth about leadership is that most of us fail to delegate all of the work that someone else could do just as well or even better. It is one of the primary ways to develop other leaders. However, when we do it poorly then our expectations are not met and the other person feels like they failed. This Michael Hyatt post is helpful:

“Tell me you’ve had this experience. You assign a task but then forget about it. I sure have. As a leader, I am not a micromanager. That’s good news for my team. But I have to be intentional that delegation doesn’t drift into abdication. It’s not always disastrous when this happens. If we’ve hired well, our teams bridge the gap and nobody is worse off. But sometimes when assignments fall through the cracks, we create serious problems for ourselves.”