As I began the coaching session, I reminded Jim of the definition of delegation as I had defined it in the workshop in which he had participated with his management team. We reviewed how delegation must be more than assigning tasks, or it will lead to reacting negatively toward people when delegated tasks are not completed in a timely and competent way. Ineffective delegation eats up a leader's critical emotional, physical and time reserves. Effective delegation builds those reserves, giving a leader discretionary reserves to use in more productive ways. ProActive Delegation is being professionally active and assertive, instead of being reactive and aggressive in transferring authority, responsibility and accountability from one person or group to another.
ProActive Delegation is done collaboratively and with mutual agreement.
When leaders overuse or overextend their strengths, they tend to try to control things too much. They try to do everything themselves rather than proactively delegate to others. In this case, their strengths often become liabilities and actually serve to block peak performance on the part of themselves and others in the organization. Often they lose the sense of control they so intensely desire and sacrifice quality and service by trying to keep it within their own grasp. This contributes to the reduction of their organization's effectiveness, efficiency and competitive edge.