Some years ago, while me and my pastor were “breaking the rules” of Christendom (i.e. taking our children “trick or treating” while sipping our bottles of Mike’s hard lemonade), I took advantage of the opportunity to complain to him about the shortcomings of those around me. Namely my complaint was that those about me didn’t run with the assignments I delegated to them and instead would put in periodic efforts to meet the minimum expectation and then hope that I would forget or worst yet, acknowledge the request and then ignore it, which frustrated me.
What makes a “Good Leader?”
Being a true leader who cared more about my character than my comfort, my pastor’s response to me was that my problem wasn’t “my people,” but was instead my desire to abdicate my assignment vs. delegate the assignment. Instead of pretending my vocabulary was greater than it was, I asked what the difference was and why would it matter if I assigned it to a responsible person. Paul explained that if I wanted to altogether “wash my hands” of the responsibility without any guidance, oversight, or follow-up, then I wasn’t really delegating. I just wanted it off my plate. He said that with delegation, my engagement should remain. Those I’m delegating to will see my support and recognize the importance of the tasks that are assigned to them to help meet a particular outcome. He further explained that the outcome was still my responsibility and by keeping others accountable to a plan, the tasks associated to the plan and the measurement of success around that plan, that I could help adjust the plan if we were missing the desired outcome.
A few learnings….
Ownership and accountability still exist, but it is a better leader who supports the owners of certain tasks rather than “washing their hands” of tasks they’d rather not do.
I’ve since learned that I can get lucky if I abdicate to some self-sufficient high performers, but that is the exception more than the rule. However, even with high-performers I’ve found that the balance of empowering them coupled with continuous support, periodic engagement and accountability reflects the amount of trust I get in return.
Respect begets respect; success begets success. This team at Cornerstone never fails to impress and be diligent as we think big and hit bigger and bigger milestones.
I remain thankful for all the lessons I’ve received in truth, growing and learning as we reach new heights every day.