Delegating 101 – who should handle what? Why?

Greetings to all. Welcome to another topic I would like to explore with everyone: Delegating. My experience may be limited… I never had any direct reports, nor have I had the opportunity to be a manager (yet). However, as a team member / leader, I have had the opportunity to delegate tasks based on things that needed to get done and “those at my disposal”. In some occasions, those team members whom I assigned tasks to where overseas, and I had no prior knowledge of their work ethic. I simply had to trust them. In other cases, team members comprised of colleagues whom I dealt with on a daily basis and knew exactly what to expect. Whenever you know the team and their strengths, it can almost be intuitive to delegate tasks. However, what if you don’t know your team? What if the set of tasks do not fit into line with your team’s existing areas of expertise? What if you are not familiar with the team and there is urgency in getting the job done?

Does “One size fit all” ?

I thought finding a wrist brace for my injured right hand would be easy. Isn’t it bad enough to struggle doing all with my left hand? Or at most contort my grip so that I don’t feel the excruciating pain? Sure – I just spent what felt like a half hour in the pharmacy isle finding the right support for my sprained wrist. There are big ones, small ones, some with “breathing materials”, others with extra support, reversible, expensive and more expensive. Oh – and just when I find the one I like, they only have it for the left hand. Just my luck.

There are so many items in our lives that are adjustable, reversible and “made to fit”. Even the “one size fits all” Baseball cap needs adjusting. If only we could approach issues in our lives just as simply. Or can we? We adjust our behaviors to those around us depending on the situation. For example, we don’t treat our new co-workers or boss the same way we treat our life-long friends or family. We adjust the way we behave to an optimal level for the situation.

As far as leadership goes - is it a “one size fits all” or completely “adjustable”? No doubt leadership requires a firm vision and clear direction. However, it also needs to be flexible –