Delegation Tips
This page brings together a special series of short, practical delegation tips, originally shared in a simple bulletin format and followed by leaders over an extended period of time.
The Daily Tips quickly became a valued resource for managers looking to delegate more effectively and lead with greater confidence.
Although the series has now come to an end, I’m pleased to say these tips are still highly relevant, well regarded and frequently referenced by leaders today. The fundamentals of good delegation don’t change, and each tip offers timeless practical guidance that can be applied immediately in day-to-day leadership situations.
I’m featuring this collection for you as an ongoing resource, drawing on my experience of working closely with executives and leadership teams.
I hope they continue to support you in developing stronger teams, greater clarity and more effective leadership.
Dave Stitt, MCC
Who matters?
I write at the end of a chaotic day in the UK, so I want to talk about systems.
How we tick
I’m struck by how much personality traits can affect our approach to delegation, especially agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness. Might be worth running checks on ourselves.
I’m a time-management heretic
I don’t believe in it. It revolves around prioritising what you think you have to do and practising techniques for sticking to those priorities. What it doesn’t do is challenge what you think you have to do.
Blurting it out
For years I’ve asked people in my programmes to complete a Big 5 personality trait questionnaire, because it gets them thinking about how they tend to respond to situations. A quite distinct profile has emerged.
Change the script
Steve is the boss and Jason reports to him. They’re locked in a “co-created pattern”, where Steve blames and demands, and Jason pleads and self-justifies. Here’s what that looks like.
What’s a big relationship?
Big results require big relationships. Are you trying to get something out of the ordinary done? If so, are your relationships big enough? I propose these four things make a relationship big.
Relationship air cover
In any delegation exercise, the two of you are going to meet with resistance because you’re stepping out of routine, out of the status quo. People won’t help, people won’t care, people will oppose. Here’s what you can do.
Higher level work
Executives I coach ask, “If I mastered the art of delegation, and relieved myself of the burden of doing everything, what actually would I do with my days?”
What you need to do is …
Giving advice is immensely satisfying. But it isn’t so great for people getting it, especially if it’s about a thorny, multi-faceted issue. What people need then is a high-grade conversation.
Emergency
“I’d like to take a break from my life right now. Just two days. A day.” A friend said that after his central heating bit the dust, right as the cold snap struck. No heat or hot water, with teenagers, for a week.
Squeeze and squeeze
A man on the radio talked about the breakdown he’d had five years ago. He thought his job was to increase pressure on his people, which is what his boss did to him, to such an extent that he couldn’t take it anymore.
Paralysing pessimism
When I talk to executives about delegation, a feeling of pessimism about the people around them usually bubbles to the surface. “You can’t get the staff these days,” and all that. I think this is an excuse for inaction.