How to Delegate Effectively

One of the most effective tools of good leadership is delegation. A lot of leaders like to micro-manage, however this is neither good for team work as it undermines those with whom one is working, nor for team relationship building as it means that one does not trust one's team. Delegation is a useful leadership tool because apart from fostering trust with team members it shows respect for the expertise of the person to whom one is delegating. In short it says to the person "I trust that you have the competence and the skills to deliver your terms of reference in the allotted time and to the quality expected". So given my 30 plus years in international development and my natural inclination (some call it laziness), these are the principles of delegating effectively.

Principle #1: Allow those who are spectacular at something to do it! A leader is not expected to know everything. A good leader finds the professionals in their field who can deliver what the leader wants. My leadership superpower is strategic thinking, effective communication and creating networks. I am not good at the day to day operational activities. I can do them, but it takes time and effort which I do not have, and more importantly it is inefficient. Let those with adequate skills do that which one is not fully competent in, especially if one is mediocre or sub par at the required task. Those who are competent and knowledgeable in their field will know how to navigate their responsibilities and fulfil their tasks effectively.

Principle #2: It’s who you delegate to! It is important to understand the industry standards and try to get the best within the field and especially those with practical, hands on experience. I want a plumber and/or electrician who has a track record in the field and who is recommended. One of the things I look for are people who have been mentored by the expert and their feedback. As a leader I want someone who can provide me with references (verifiable), and as a lot of my work involves report writing, I would like to see the person's ability to communicate their expertise. There are a lot of people who speak a good game and never deliver.

Principle #3: Trust the expert! Trust is especially difficult when one is delegating to someone who has never been allowed the responsibility. My favourite example, coming from a country where domestic workers are affordable, is the difference between a housekeeper and a maid. A maid takes daily instructions and waits to be instructed. A housekeeper manages the home and manages the operations. As a working professional who needed to balance a full time job, motherhood, being a wife, other social responsibilities and generally trying to survive, I needed a housekeeper that I did not need to micromanage. The domestic helper landscape was filled with maids but had very few housekeepers, I had to really scope the landscape and ensure that the housekeeper I hired had the potential to step into the larger shoes and specifically take risks to manage the household that could include some epic fails as they learnt to manage. When the expert has a track record in the field, has studied extensively and knows their field - then let them take the reigns and fulfil their terms of reference. In trusting the expert, the leader's role is understanding the expert's strengths and weaknesses, because some people are good only when micro managed and complete basket cases otherwise.

Principle #4: Own your space! As a leader it is important to understand one's superpowers which means understanding and optimizing the talents and skills that one has as a leader. I am a big picture person. I can do the detail but it is a waste of everybody’s time because I am inefficient at the details. It is not my natural talent - I had to learn to manage details, however understanding the big picture, seeing the strategic roles and responsibility and cutting through bullshit I can do with my hands tied behind my back. So when one is hiring experts, one needs to understand one's space and what one needs to adequately lead an effective project/programme/task to its completion in an efficient and effective manner.

Principle #5: Let go! Once you delegate as a leader let go. Allow the expert to set up the conceptual framework to deliver their expertise. Your leadership role is to set-up the feedback mechanism to ensure you know what is going on, so that you can step in where necessary, that you understand the mental state of your expert and that you see progress. If you are still building trust, as it takes time to build trust, ensure that you set some tasks and timelines which need to be met. A slow build up with the project/programme/task broken up into bite size chunks helps a leader determine the expert's working language and working style. For example my working style is to take notes during meetings and then process the information before I produce something. I like what I produce to be more or less the draft final as opposed to a document that will need several iterations. Other people prefer to put down ideas and discuss the ideas then develop the concept. So different people require different styles and letting go means that you allow each person to find their centre and to thus work from that centre. The leader's role is to manage the expectations of the client and ensure the team has all the logistical, operational and other support as necessary to achieve the stated goal.

Principle #6: Watch your back! Leadership can be a very lonely process because one has to make the difficult decisions. It involves calling some people out and can involve delivering difficult news. A lot of the time delegation means that the leadership behind the process is not acknowledged or seen, particularly when the work involves a collaborative project through which the end result may not show the people who made it happen. Watching one's back means remaining mindful to people's agendas and realizing that not everyone in the team means well. Other team members will take the credit because they want to advance and they want to look good, especially in highly specialized areas in which the leader may not necessarily understand the expertise. It is important to call out and manage the processes with the experts. Ensure that the quieter team members who are more introverted are acknowledged and their input recognised. Make people aware that one is not burying one's head in the sand and one is on top of the potential bombs going off. The leader's role is to ensure that the messaging and communications are managed in a way that is representative of the project/programme/task goal and the values of the client.

Principle #7: Know your Stuff! Sometimes a leader needs to show the team that you can do what is required - you just do not want or need to do it. This happens a lot when younger colleagues with the academic background come into the organization and would like to flex their muscles. They are hungry which is great, but they are also lacking in practical experience. It is important for the leader to be well read even in areas in which one has minimal knowledge. It is important to ask questions and to refer to emerging thoughts in the field of work. It is important for a leader to keep up with current trends and then ask the expert to whom one is delegating what that means to project/programme/task efficacy. Read and especially look at controversial issues within the expertise. Help challenge the experts.

Principle #8: Keep them guessing! A leader should develop a unique personal style. My style involves compassion, mindfulness, authenticity and personalizing my working life in a healthy manner. I spend the large part of my life working so the professional is personal. As a woman I have found that we have a tendency to only personalize our private lives. Too seldom do we personalize our professional lives. As a leader there must be some air of mystery that keeps the people one works with engaged and intrigued by the leader. One of the questions the team members need to ask is ''how does she know/do that?''

ABC - Attend to your Basic needs with Compassion

Wadzanai Valerie Garwe is a mother of two young adults, an author, an activist, an executive coach, a mentor and a firm believer in the power of economic empowerment. The name Wadzanai means reconcile, or live in harmony in Shona. Wadzanai was born in Zimbabwe where she did all her primary and high school education, and she did her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the United States. Professionally, Wadzanai is an economist who studied finance and community economic development. She works in international development, has run a free-lance development consulting business, a family agricultural concern of 180 hectares, and is a coach and mentor, centering her coaching around workplace toxicity. She has lived and worked in many places and her passion is to ensure that she lives her best life and contributes towards making the amazing world we live in a wondrous adventure of growth and self-discovery.