It’s commonly accepted that leaders lead followers. But great leaders lead leaders. So, here’s a question to consider:
How am I empowering and equipping others to lead?
One of the most embarrassing and regretful moments in my leadership was a time when I allowed my insecurities to rob others of opportunities.
My insistence that things had to be done my way stifled creativity, encouraged discouragement, and impeded leadership development. And, if I’m willing to completely risk vulnerability, I must admit that I enjoyed the false assumption that my leadership was indispensable. However, my drive to bolster my leadership, neglected my responsibility to grow and expand leaders.
Henry and Richard Blackaby remind us: “Failure to develop leaders in an organization is tantamount to gross failure by the leader, whether by design or by neglect.”[1] When we ignore our insecurities, we rob others of opportunities.
Developing leaders must be an intentional priority. One of the first steps I needed to reorient my leadership for the good of the organization was to understand why delegation is essential and how it benefits others.
I prided myself on being able to do many things well. My insistence that things must be “done right” (translated as “my way,”) was hindering leadership development and limiting the growth potential of the company I served. It also magnified my micromanagement tendencies in my attempt to hide my insecurities.
Leaders are, by nature, decision-makers. But is it wise for leaders to make all the decisions? Peter Drucker suggests: “Effective executives do not make a great many decisions. They concentrate on the important ones.” [2]
Proper delegation empowers others to lead, encourages growth opportunities for your business, ministry, or organization, inspires others to be personally invested, bolsters confidence in others, lightens your load, and frees you to focus on other essential matters.
Do you feel overwhelmed and like to lighten your load? Delegation can be your friend. Here are some reflection questions to think about:
What keeps me from delegating?
How can I resource others, so they have what they need to confidently handle their assigned tasks?
What can I do to make sure the assigned task is clear, and expectations are defined?
How can I guard myself against “micro-managing” a delegated task?
Thanks for your leadership.
Richard
[1] Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2001), 134.
[2] Peter Drucker, The Effective Executive in The Executive in Action (New York: HarperBusiness, 1996), 637.