Delegation: The Active Process of Leadership Development
“Teaching leadership is one thing… developing leaders is another matter” - The Program
We can sit in a room and tell people what leadership looks like and what actions people need to take to become leaders, but is that actually accomplishing anything? Leadership development is a process which needs to be cultivated with future leaders. It is senior leader’s responsibility to ensure they are providing opportunities to develop people and future leaders for the organization. There are several steps which this can be accomplished to begin to develop these leaders. Future leaders of the organization can be easily identified, as they energetic and passionate about the organization and it’s mission. Those who show no interest in the organization, provide no benefits, and struggle to meet the bare minimums need to be quickly ruled out and our time focused on our future leaders. We want our leaders to embody the culture, character, and leadership style which the organization has espoused.
When we promote or hire people who just meet the minimum expectation, fail at the basics of their job, and spends more time in the recliner than on the training ground; we are setting our organization up for failure. When we see people who excel in their duties, the role models for the younger generation, and who takes pride in what they do and how they do it; we need to begin to develop leadership abilities with these individuals.
Delegation is a catalyst for leadership development. In the book The Program by Eric Kapitulik and Jake MacDonald state, “great subordinate leaders want their leaders to give them as much ownership over various parts of the organization”. When developing leaders, we need to provide opportunities for subordinates to take on projects or tasks and excel. These typically start with small tasks and as they provide results, more responsibilities are provided. Empowering our people creates ownership, increases organization buy-in and motivates them for continued success. We provide these opportunities through delegation of tasks and projects.When leaders are delegating tasks, they are preparing and developing those individuals to take leadership of their assigned duties.
When a task is delegated, it is the leadership’s responsibility to provide assistance and remove roadblocks but also hold those accountable for their tasks. When being held accountable, it is ensuring the task are being completed and developing the future leader’s ability to manage these assignments.
Leaders have a lot of responsibilities and ensuring the strategic focus is never lost and by delegating tasks or projects, it spreads the vision and create buy-in and motivation for others to excel. John Maxwell says, good leaders create good teams and build a strong follower base, but great leader build other leaders.
If you are looking for an opportunity to start to build leadership in your up and coming personnel, empower them to take on tasks, create the buy-in and motivation and allow them to express their passion with projects and tasks. This will not only begin to build their leadership abilities but also build your trust with those individuals. As always, leadership is trust. If we extend trust to others with delegation and empowerment, we as leaders will build trust with them. LEADERSHIP IS TRUST. We can show trust in many ways and empower is one avenue. We trust others to take on responsibilities, tasks or projects, the organization will only benefit. If an individual does not accomplish their opportunity to be empowered, then trust is lost.
Bet on your people, because in the end, they will give you and your organization much more than you ever could by yourself.