Drive-by Delegating Doesn’t Work

Are you delegating by using the drive-by method of leadership?

Do you express half-baked ideas with few instructions and expect people to follow through?

Projects aren’t delivered on time because you never articulated the deadline?

Are casual encounters your favorite time to ask for a specific piece of work to get done?

Is spur of the moment your regular way of operating?

Do you assume people understand what you are asking or that they can read your mind?

Is outlining details boring and aggravating?

Are you unsure of the ultimate product? Unable to describe it to someone?

Is texting your idea of a conversation?

Do your employees look befuddled after you ask them to do something?

Do people huddle after staff meetings asking each other, “What just happened and what do we do now?”

If you answered “yes” to many, or all, of these behaviors, you are a worthy member of the Leaders Delegating Drive-By Method Club. It’s a big group of well-meaning managers and leaders who are impacting the productivity, job satisfaction, creativity, and development of their area and staff.

Time to ask some basic questions.

Why do smart, quality managers make terrible delegators?

I can’t tell you how many top leaders are doing work that could easily be handled by a much more junior person. For some, it is the habit of doing everything themselves — this is how they succeeded, so why stop now? For others, it is a lack of delegating skills. They focus on task completion rather than strategy development (more within their comfort zone).

For others, the failure to delegate is because of a hesitancy to ask. This is real. Why? Fear of pushback or not being liked. Also, seeming arrogant or above others. The last, and maybe the most important, is most people don’t know how to effectively delegate, so they either botch it or shy away.

Here are some tips to prevent drive-by delegating.

Make the ask the essence of the conversation not a sidebar. “I want you to…”

Start with the finish. What is it you must achieve? Paint the picture, so both of you will know what the product will look like.

Invest in the ramp-up. Set aside time to introduce the idea, identify pitfalls, and resources.

Acknowledge staff can’t read your mind. It would be nice, sometimes, but not realistic.

Identify the process. Make it clear how things will happen, in what sequence, and with whom.

Be specific. How much, how long, what time, the format, who sees it before completion, and so on.

Ask questions. The best way to know if a person understands is to ask them questions about how they see it. You’ll quickly know if you are on the same page.

Answer questions. If the person doesn’t have any questions, they probably haven’t grasped the issue.

Monitor progress. Early and often with formal and informal check-ins. Set up a mechanism to keep you posted. No surprises.

Appreciate that different isn’t always wrong. Others may have a better way of doing things. Don’t be the barrier to innovation. Be a delegator not a dictator.

Stay aware of communication differences. Some employees like the face-to-face. Others will also need it in writing (have them record the key points of the discussion). Some will want to return to their desks and think about the task and then get back to you. Lack of clear communication is the downfall of many a project.

Avoid changes. Think things out before asking someone to act. Constant moves or edits are frustrating and demoralizing, also preventable.

People want to do good work and they want to please. The professional leader helps them achieve.

Too many managers and leaders use the delegating by the drive-by method. It’s ineffective and can create more problems than it solves. Utilizing concise, specific, targeted conversations as outlined above can make everyone’s workday and output easier.