Develop Team Responsibility

I think one of the most difficult tasks of a leader is learning to let go. By let go I mean to let others. As a leader, we know how we want something to be accomplished and know the quickest way to get it done. So instead of growing our people through giveing them responsibility, we do it.

I still have to hone the ability and learn to better apply the leader's best friend: delegation. Delegation for some leaders is as natural as drinking iced tea for someone in the southern United States. For others, delegation is as complicated as trying to program a VCR (or should I say a cell phone). Delegation can hinder a leader or free a leader.

What many leaders fail to see about delegation is not just what it does for them but how it builds up team responsibility and pride within those the leader is influencing. Delegation is a great way to get your people to "buy in" to vision and task.

Delegation is an emotional tool. Your people will feel needed, wanted, and involved. It also shows your people that you trust them and creates a drive in them to want more responsibility.

Many organizations suffer for from not building up the hidden talent from within. As a leader you are responsible for using delegation as an educational tool. Your delegation will teach them how to handle projects and learn to think independently. The more you know your people, the better your delegation becomes, and you will be able to evaluate when your people are ready for greater and more challenging responsibility.

Greater freedom comes from learning how to trust those you lead. Remaining stuck in a rut is frustrating, tiring, and stressful. Relieve the stress by oiling the cog of delegation. Trust your people and be surprised by what they can accomplished.

One warning here - be prepared to let your people fail. Delegation is a process of teaching responsibility. Take the failures and teach your people what they should learn from it so they can avoid failure in the future. Also, don't delegate without instruction. Let your people know what you are thinking and then let them get to work.

Free up your time so that you can move forward, because your organization cannot move until you do. That's what leadership is all about.