Delegation
Don't delegate tasks, delegate outcomes (value)
One the great challenges of leadership is delegation. In fact, we sometimes here this as a mantra. "Delegate, delegate, delegate". Recently, in the time I set aside each day to just think (shocking I know) I was reflecting on what we might mean by this.
I considered some leaders I've had in the past and what it seemed they might have thought delegate meant. For some it seems to have meant "shuffle off work you don't want to do" or "find someone to do tasks you find unpleasant" or "have people carry water for you" or similar kinds of things. In fact, I'll confess, at times I may have been exactly that kind of leader. But I've changed.
I think the key aspect of delegation is what you delegate. Tasks, or outcomes. And I think the best leaders delegate outcomes. If there is a task that needs to be done, as a servant leader, I will often do it. However, when the organization needs an outcome from my area, then I'll look at delegating that.
You might want some examples, so let me try. "Bob, you guys need to present the Coding Community of Practice (CoP) to the leadership council next week". This could well be a task. Make a PowerPoint to show a group so we can check a box to say we showed them. I'll almost always do that. However, if the ask is more along the lines, of "Bob, we need to convince the leadership council to endorse the Coding Community of Practice", that seems more outcome based and I'll delegate that. I'll work with someone on the team, coaching and mentoring them, to create and own the Coding CoP. It may be a couple of people, or just one, depending on the size of the team I have.
The key thing for me is to delegate the outcome. "I need you to convince the leadership council to support the Coding Community of Practice". This is not to say I remove myself from ownership. Not at all. And as part of this process I allow the team member to take all the credit and should something horrible happen (which it won't because she and I will work together daily) and the whole thing go south, I'll take all the heat (which is what servant leaders do).
What about what it really is just a task? And I don't have skill\access\knowledge to do it. For example, "Pull the last months sales data and send it to marketing". I'm going to find out who needs that data (and maybe, but not always, why). Then I'm going to "delegate" something like "Get with Timmy and ensure he's got the info he needs about sales. Please let me know what the outcome of his research is". In this scenario, presuming I got the right name in marketing, not only is Timmy going to get what he needs, he's going to get someone invested in the outcome of his task.
Delegating outcomes should drive up team engagement far more than delegating tasks. It should cause you to think about your team, and the value they bring, beyond merely the permissions they have on various systems (or skill with sundry applications).