Delegate Like Jesus - part 2

"When we give people authority, we are affectively empowering them by giving them the right to get on with the task"

Sir Alex Ferguson: “We had a crop of young players developing who were outstanding, and we knew that we would have a secure future with them. It was the fruit of hard work, total dedication, long hours and self-belief”

When we give people authority, we are affectively empowering them by giving them the right to get on with the task. This should involve them having access to the personnel they need with the appropriate equipment and support from others necessary to get the job done.

There can be mixed reasons & motives why we don’t give sufficient authority to a person. Sometimes it’s simply because we have not looked at all different interconnecting facets that are associated with the task. An example of this would be when the delegated person needs to spend money. They have to go back and get the leaders permission for the money because they have not been authorised as a budget holder. Access to recruit sufficient volunteers can also be very frustrating and depowering.

Sometimes leaders lack conviction about the person’s ability to carry out the task. If this has validity then it would be best to be honest with them and make the scope of delegation appropriate to this. As well as giving encouragement that you could well increase the level of authority as the person succeeds. Sometimes the leader wants someone to do the task without giving away any of their own power. This in the end leads to frustration and people feeling that they are just being used.

To be continued

Delegate Like Jesus - part 2

Sir Alex Ferguson: “We had a crop of young players developing who were outstanding, and we knew that we would have a secure future with them. It was the fruit of hard work, total dedication, long hours and self-belief”