When we empower people to think and take action and we expect them to put that empowerment to good use, what sort of action are we trying to delegate?

Are we empowering a person to take action to perform:

• tasks?
• roles?
• responsibilities?
• decision-making?
• acts of power?

Here's the simplest way to look at delegation...

We delegate Processes performed by People and those Processes are strings of Tasks, some routine tasks and some not-Routine tasks.

So...

When we delegate, our intent is to delegate the performance of Tasks.

Those Tasks may be performed by the person we delegate them to or they may be done by others who are under the authority of that person. Regardless of who will perform the Tasks, when we delegate it is our intent that the person we delegate them to accepts responsibility for the performance of the Tasks. It is also our intent that the person we delegate them to becomes accountable for the performance of the Tasks.

Responsibility for Tasks: that means the person understands the Task is part of his or her role.

Accountability for Tasks: that means the person not only understands the Task is part of his or her role but also accepts the responsibility as an obligation to perform the Tasks.

Thought Tweet #809.5 How do you know people are uncomfortable? How do you react when they are uncomfortable?

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

In my former business life, on occasion, I knew people were uncomfortable...mostly because I was the source of their discomfort. Sometimes I recognized people were in discomfort because they complained about some personal issue caused by something outside of work.

Much of the time I didn't recognize people were in discomfort. That was what happened because I don't have an empathy bone in my body (I've been assessed) and I did nothing to offset that lack of natural empathy.

So, without a conscious effort to better understand people's feelings, in general, I did little to react to let alone relieve other people's discomfort. In fact, I expanded their discomfort.

That was then and this is now.

Thought Tweet #809 What time-management lesson do you learn from people who have the habit of saying, "I'm too busy"?

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

What skill comes first

Using your time productively?

- or -

Helping others use their time productively?

Would you want to learn time-management from a person who fails to arrive on time? 

Would you want to learn time-management from a person who does not deliver on promises?

Would you want to learn time-management from a person who fails to return phone calls or email?