To successfully delegate, one has to develop one’s own ability
to define and scope work.
Imagine the scenario of “Joe, I need you to get these things
done by Friday” from a leader that hasn’t defined the work items well and doesn’t
know for sure if they could do those things themselves by Friday. The chances of that delegated task being done
by Friday to standard would be low. It might be Monday or Tuesday. Or they
might be lucky and have it by Thursday.
Each project scoped with the (un)certainty of a roll of the dice.
Now, scale that inability to scope small tasks across large
projects that span a quarter or more. You’ll see a track record of missed
execution from that leader. Luck doesn’t hold out forever.
Consistently poor execution is a leadership problem.
Spotty execution is also a leadership problem.
A good rule of thumb: leaders that can’t scope work for themselves
will likely not be able to consistently scope delegated work for others.
The ability to successfully delegate is represented in consistently
successful execution results.
So when evaluating, hiring, and mentoring leaders, remember the
importance of drilling down into that leader’s ability to define work and scope
work for a given timeframe. The best
delegators demonstrate that they can consistently define and scope their own
work.
The evidence will be clear in their results.
There is also no better way to know when your individual
contributors are ready to lead than when they show that they can consistently and
successfully scope their own work.
Mentor the ability to scope and you’ll get your organization
to the next level of execution.
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