Delegation

"When you trust a person, you either have a friend or you have a life lesson." - Anonymous

Delegation is easy when you trust the person to do the job as well as or better than you.

Delegation is hard when you don’t trust the quality of the other person’s work or their abilities related to the task at hand.

Delegation is impossible -or- unwise if you don’t trust them at all. If you don’t trust the person at all, then the decision is simple: let the person go. Firing someone may be difficult emotionally to do [and in the government it’s also a time-consuming lengthy pain-in-the-rear life-sucking process] but it is the kinder thing to do for them, for your team, and for you.

Trust is the foundation of all relationships - and critically important for delegation. So, it’s important for you to gain clarity for yourself on what makes up trust to you. And then to communicate and share your expectations with your team.

• Trust in a person's EXPERTISE – Validated credentials, knowledgeable / recognized subject matter expert, demonstrated accomplishments.
• Trust in a person’s RELIABILITY – Delivers on their promises. Team player. Meets deadlines. Delivers quality work and outcomes.
• Trust in a person’s CHARACTER – Honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, accuracy.


• Trust in a person’s INTENT – Motives. Transparent or hidden agendas? Team player or in it for themselves?

What makes a person trustworthy to you?

How do you know if your team member is ready for greater responsibility?

By trusting in your team, you build up their confidence with each opportunity and success. With each task/project you delegate to others, you also expand your personal capacity by freeing your time to focus on higher echelon responsibilities. Win-win!