Belief Series: Delegation
Beliefs Series: What are your beliefs about delegation?
Recently I met with a group of relatively new managers to discuss challenges that arise when they need to delegate client project work to others on their team. The teams involved a mix of people who reported to the managers directly and others who did not. Before we got into the details of what makes for effective delegation, I asked them to tell me their beliefs about the act of delegation.
At first, the group said they don’t have beliefs about it. They could give me a definition, but that was it. What do you mean, beliefs? I then asked them to tell me what makes them uncomfortable about delegating, or what makes it hard for them in certain circumstances.
With that prompt, all sorts of concerns poured out from the group:
▪️I’m afraid that delegating means that I cannot do the work myself
▪️I worry that if I delegate some work to a junior person, they will resent me for giving them annoying work to do
▪️I don’t want people to think I am bossy
▪️I can give work to junior people, but some of the folks on the team are older than I am, or more experienced, and it doesn’t feel right giving them work
▪️Delegating work means that it is “beneath me” or “not worth my time”
What are some of the beliefs about delegation that underly these concerns?
🛑 Delegation is about exerting power/authority over others
🛑Delegation reveals that I am incapable of doing the work I should be able to do myself
🛑Delegation makes my life easier and thus is selfish
🛑It’s easier and better for me to just do the work myself
Even though we might have learned these beliefs through experience (e.g. a boss who punished us with delegated work or who delegated work they didn’t understand), these beliefs are generally dysfunctional and limit our ability to delegate effectively.
Some alternate beliefs that productively reframe the dysfunctional ones include:
✅ My role as manager includes making sure the team is successful and that projects are delivered on time
✅ I’m helping junior team members learn and develop by giving them work appropriate for their level and goals, and supporting them through it
✅ If I do the work without delegating, I prevent myself from adding value to the work appropriate to my level
As we build self-awareness of our beliefs, we identify areas where our beliefs might limit our behaviors in a way that stifles our effectiveness. Being aware only gets us so far – to truly move ahead we need to replace the limiting beliefs with new ones that allow us to change behavior and act with more freedom.
Feel free to comment any of your dysfunctional or reframed beliefs about delegation.
If you’d like to discuss the value of coaching to help you achieve your goals at work, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com