Why you are no good at delegation

Oh crap, I know all about delegation. I delegate all the time. And I’ve read a book on delegation. So, how come these tasks weren’t done!?

I know about delegation.
Really? Click on the photo and take the assessment.

I walk the floor all the time. I tell them what I want. Why aren’t they stepping up?

I travel to all the offices and tell them what the plan is. Then they go back to doing what they want.

No, I don’t meet with them. They won’t listen anyway.

I meet with them once a week. I ask them how they’re doing, we chat, then I tell them what I want. They do what I say, but it doesn’t seem like teamwork and projects are moving slowly.

I ask them to set up time with me but they don’t. I don’t get it.

I don’t see initiative from my team. They keep doing what they’re comfortable with.

I want them to work with the other teams and groups. They won’t do it.

They don’t respect me. I can’t get them to do what I need done.

I think some of the team members need to grow professionally. They act like kids sometimes, bickering, gossiping, blaming.

The reality about delegation

Okay, what’s happening here? Lot’s. These are quotes I’ve heard from a wide variety of people about their experiences working with teams.
Can you identify what went wrong from these statements?
We all can’t be excellent at delegation. However, there some huge mistakes that are easily corrected when delegating tasks to a team.
What I find curious is that it is always easiest to see what someone else is doing wrong in delegation. It can very difficult to identify what “I am doing wrong” that’s messing up delegation to team members. Yes, of course that goes for me too.
Do not be afraid. These mistakes in delegation are straight forward to fix. It does take some self evaluation. I admit self-evaluation is very difficult at best. If you don’t have a coach then you might consider getting one, especially if you are stuck in ineffective delegation.

7 mistakes in effective delegation.

Be unclear about your values. These drive your decisions whether you are aware or not. In fact ignore your values and why you do what you do.

Do NOT take the time to know your strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, talents and styles, especially your weaknesses and blind spots. Heck your team will know them anyway.

Do not waste time to develop a direction and the destination for you and your team. You know a vision is a waste of time anyway.

Be vague about your goals. After all we are in business to make money. Everybody knows that.

Who cares what your team wants and desires, their styles, talents, blind spots. They are professionals. They need to step up. It’s their job! Definitely do not ask them questions and do not listen to them.

Avoid helping your team achieve their goals. Ignore aligning their goals with your goals. Especially, do not be clear about their job responsibilities.

Do not communicate often. Tell them once a week or once a quarter what you want. And definitely never repeat your message. Once is enough. Besides, your team does not need to know details or what’s happening to do their jobs.

Avoid some or all of these mistakes and you are on your way to effective delegation.