That self-awareness can start with observing others. Leaders need to have enough self-awareness to recognize when they are truly leading a team rather than simply assigning work. This level of involvement is what creates future-and better-leaders.įinding your leadership delegation style requires more than simply declaring one of the above styles as your own. Everyone has a stake in the outcome and a chance to share their ideas for achieving a shared goal.

It’s not just a matter of the work getting done.

This is what separates leadership from mere delegation. Leaders and team members are in regular communication to make sure the project is on track and everyone has the support they need. Regular check-ins are key to hands-on delegation. We create a clear path forward, with space for each team member to explore their own ideas and experiment with putting their own spin on a particular task. Everyone works together to map out the timeline, figure out who is responsible for what and identify any resources you may need along the way. Leaders work closely with their direct reports to develop the project plan and bounce ideas off each other. This management style involves your team from the very beginning. There’s a middle ground between micromanaging and an entirely hands-off approach. Too little direct involvement can be just as detrimental as too much. Not only can a hands-off approach make a leader look bad if a project goes off the rails, resources are handled poorly or deadlines are missed, but the team may lose faith in the person in charge.

If the team wastes time going down rabbit holes and focusing on project elements that don’t really add value, the entire project can fall behind schedule.Įven leaders with a fully hands-off approach will check in occasionally, but those little check-ins are likely not giving employees the guidance they need to thrive. This approach does, admittedly, give people ample space to learn and grow, but it can lead to problems. A leader might assign a project to a direct report and leave them entirely to their own devices. The opposite extreme is a fully hands-off approach. These ongoing discoveries are crucial to growth. Every misstep is an opportunity for someone to get better at understanding what separates a good idea from a bad one. Mistakes and misdirects are an unavoidable part of the learning process.

App for assigning tasks