This is part two of a two part series. Find part 1 here.
A leader who keeps all of their authority and responsibility to themselves is failing in their leadership role. [1]
Part of growing as a Godly and effective leader is learning to delegate.
In our November article we began our discussion on delegation by looking at the first of 5 important questions on delegation. To review, here were the first 3 questions:
- Is delegation Biblical? Where do we see delegation in the Bible?
- Yes! Moses appointment of Judges for the tribes of Israel is one of many examples
- What is a good way to describe delegation?
- Entrusting someone with appropriate authority to complete a task.
- When should I delegate?
- When our responsibilities are more than we can handle. When we see potential leadership in others and when we recognize that others can help us better accomplish a task.
Building off of those ideas, let’s look at 2 more questions and finish with some application.
Question #4: What impact does healthy delegation have on others?
Delegation can have a profound impact on those you lead. Here are 3 impacts:
- Delegation says to a potential leader: “I believe in you. I believe you are capable of completing this task successfully.” Those ideas alone can build confidence and have a deep impact on others.
- Delegation also helps others own the ministry or project you are working with them on. When people take ownership, they often work harder and more effectively.
- Delegation develops leaders. By delegating you are allowing potential leaders to grow in competence, confidence, and commitment. Acts 6 shows us this principle at work. The two deacons who got their start waiting on the widows became incredible leaders in the early church—Philip the evangelist and Stephen the first martyr.
Question #5: How do I delegate in a healthy way? 6 Tips
If you are a leader searching for ways to grow in your delegation skills here are a few tips.
Selection: Take time to select the right person. Be sure they are ready for the added responsibility and consider the ways this will help them grow.
Clarity of vision: Understand and articulate the goal clearly. What is the strategy? What does success in the task or project look like?
Affirmation: Celebrate, affirm, and encourage the individual. Find ways to recognize and acknowledge their work throughout the process.
Identify resources: Identify the resources that the individual will need in order to be successful and be sure to provide those. It may be time, skills, equipment, training, etc.
Availability: Give the person freedom to work (don’t micromanage) but be sure that you are available to help along the way. Consider your approachableness. Have you created a culture where people know you are willing to help them when they are struggling?
Follow-up: One of the greatest failures in delegation is follow-up. Make sure you are checking in with the person, asking appropriate questions, and allowing them to continue meeting the expectations of the task. [2]
Where do I start? First Steps
As we continue to grow in our understanding of delegation, you may be asking yourself: “Where do I begin?” Here are some practical first steps as you begin thinking about healthy delegation.
1. Take a self inventory of your tasks.
To begin, take time to identify your responsibilities and tasks. Pray and ask God to help reveal to you the honest understanding of your work responsibilities. By inventorying your work you can better decide what to delegate and what not to delegate. I found on Ramsey Solutions a good resource to help you do this.[3] Below are some thoughts from that.
Look at your current responsibilities and place them into one of the 4 categories:
- Work you’re good at and love. (Does it give you energy?)
- Work you’re bad at and hate. (Does it suck the life out of you, and do you hate doing it?)
- Work you’re good at but don’t love. (Does another person have the drive to do it?)
- Work you’re bad at but like. (Does another person have the skill to do it faster and better?)
You should focus your time and effort in Category A and C. When it comes to delegating, consider looking at responsibilities in category B and D. Category D is an area where if time allows you could work to learn skills to better yourself but still likely an area that should be delegated. As a reminder, we all have responsibilities that we are poor at but just need to grow and become better at. As much as we want, we can’t just get rid of all those tasks! However, there may likely be a few of them that someone else might be more gifted to do or passionate about doing. Those might be tasks that you could start a process of delegating to someone else.
2. Start a process of delegation.
Delegation does not mean just dumping responsibility onto someone on your team. Obviously as a leader you need to communicate and prepare for the hand off of responsibilities. In doing so, consider the following things:
- What is their skillset?
- What are they good at?
- How could they grow?
- What is that person’s current workload?
- Are there any tasks that need to be removed from their plate in order to have room to take on new opportunities?
Also, take into account the tips from the above section in the article to help you start a healthy process. (Select the right person, clarify the vision of the responsibility, affirm the person etc.)
3. Pray and lead with confidence
No leader is perfect. We all make mistakes. Surely as you learn to delegate you will make some mistakes as well. Don’t allow your fear to stop you from doing something that God has called you as a leader to do. Spend time praying for wisdom and be confident in the process that God leads you through. It is all part of your leadership growth as well!
Final Thoughts
As a leader I hope you will see the incredible value in learning to delegate. As you entrust some of your authority and responsibility to others, you are giving them a chance to honor God with the abilities and talents they have been given. May the Lord guide you as you continue to grow in this area of leadership!
Luke 16:10 says: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.”
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