Eight years ago I wrote “The Delegate Leader”, which described how I came to write my book, Deep and Deliberate Delegation, and its accompanying training programme. It’s here in full below.

However, I wanted to note that a lot has happened since then.

My client Mark, who kicked it all off with a simple request, went on to roll out the programme to nine cohorts of his staff. Here’s what one participant, Victor Muniz Gomez, said of it: “The Programme was very useful and interesting and it has opened my mind to consider things that can be used on a daily basis to improve performance and wellbeing.”

Many other organisations have run the programme for their staff. Here’s what Steve Dudley of Costain said: “The programme was extremely insightful for me to understand myself, how others thought of me and how the process of delegation works. I found it very useful to develop the tools of delegation to improve efficiency, empower people and unlock their potential.”

Liz Male Consulting recently completed the programme’s 2023 version. This is what Liz had to say about it: “I’m very glad we did the Delegate for Results course with Dave, and that it was the first we did together as a new Senior Leadership Team at LMC. It has helped to give us a common vocabulary and understanding about how best to delegate to and manage our team, and unlock the full potential within the team. I know it will help us shape the ‘LMC Way’ with more clarity and confidence”

The book was published on Amazon just over five years ago and it has sold well with next to no marketing. It has 70 ratings, all 5-star except a few.

Educational publisher Bookboon just published it in a five-part series. Here’s the link

So it seems there is still life in Mark’s suggestion – here’s The Delegate Leader from 2015 reproduced in full.

“How come you are doing that, surely that’s not your job.”

Mark asked me to do a workshop on ‘delegation’ with his top people. My immediate response was ‘I don’t do training’. Though after a short conversation I agreed to go away and think about it.
Since then I have been listening out for delegation and I’m noticing that it’s not the top priority big issue out there though it is in every conversation I’ve had recently with leaders and managers – one hundred percent. Without prompting most mentioned the word ‘delegation’ and those that didn’t talked, at some stage in our conversation, about their reports inability to let go or frustration with their people not delivering on assigned tasks.
So I am now thinking that Mark is onto something and that better delegation could be both a missing skill and another route to improved performance.

In these recent conversations people are telling me things like “it’s simple, John just needs to let go, move up a level, and start leading” and “I don’t know what’s wrong with Tom, why can’t he just do that simple task, is he useless?”
It seems to me it’s not that simple and that delegation is a complex dynamic between five key factors: the delegator, the delegatee, the task, the system and feedback between the previous four.
Here’s what I am thinking:
Firstly there’s you the delegator – what should you keep and what should you delegate and then what do you need in order to entrust and let go of the thing you are delegating? And once having let go is that the end of your involvement?
Then the delagatee is she worthy of your trust and how do you even work that out? And does the task suit her skills and interests or does that not come into it cos she’s getting paid, isnt she?
What about the task itself, have you framed it, is it SMART? Oh, and are you delegating tasks or outcomes or are you merely dishing out orders?
And what about the system in which all of this is taking place – is the culture supportive or competitive and critical? What internal and external forces are being applied? Are the right tools and resources available or will all the effort get bogged down in paperwork and approvals?
Lastly and central to my delegation mental model is feedback – the lubricant for effective delegation. How does feedback flow between: task, system, delegatee and delegator? And for your part as delegator how do you provide feedback, are you using the “feedback sandwich” – praise, criticism, praise – and if so don’t be surprised if it is not well received, it doesn’t work.

So, is John rubbish at delegation or is it that his approach is incomplete and Tom is anything but useless though is confused about what he is supposed to be doing and there are lots of barriers in his way. Delegation seems simple, “just do this”, though in reality it’s not – the task is logical but ‘people’ are psychological and there are lots of people involved, stakeholders and the like, even in the simplest of tasks.

Now I know Mark was onto something when he asked me for a workshop on delegation. I rang him back and said ‘Mark it’s not a workshop it’s a programme’ and he said ‘let’s go for it’.
We start later this month.

And this is what he said after the programme “Exceeded expectations and provided many tools to improve delegation techniques, interaction and good fun. We have already seen improvements in behaviours. The participants have stopped believing they are the only ones capable of doing a great job – leading to improved efficiency. We have now embarked on a roll out programme for all our leaders.” Mark Thompson Managing Partner Ryder Architecture

You can get the original book here or the Bookboon series here and, if you’d like to run the course for your staff, have a look here or give me a call and we can talk through your format options.