Effective leaders are also experts in delegation, which includes mastering accountability and consequence.

Many of you at some point have asked yourself: “How do I grow my company? How do I develop my people?” Without the willingness to delegate, growth usually plateaus. The ability to delegate is a primary tool for growth. The question is, what makes a leader good at delegation?     

Three steps are clear when it comes to delegation, which I will discuss in detail further in the column. They are:    

Step 1 – Delegation is a process. If you are going to be effective in delegation, you must make sure you complete all the steps of the process.  

Step 2 – Accountability is critical to effective delegation and yet isn’t necessary delegation itself. We’ll explore this more later in the column.   

Step 3 – There is consequence, and, depending on how effective you are in your delegation process and/or holding your team accountable to the consequences of actions, they will be either more or less positive.

Three Steps
Step No. 1, delegation, is a systemic process, and in my experience, delegation has six parts that need to be completed in order to really be effective. They are:

Part 1 – What needs to be done? Be as specific as you can be in the “what.” Take scheduling as a pragmatic example.  I need to have schedules completed that support the profitability of the company, and at the same time,  uphold the values the company espouses.   

Part 2 – Why this is important? Come up with the biggest reason you can think of. Effective scheduling has much to do with both morale and profitability. Whoever does the scheduling has to really carry the torch of the job with awareness and commitment to balance skills, time, volume, etc.  

Of all the parts, the “why” is most often omitted. The old way of thinking is, “As the boss, when I tell you to do something, that is reason enough.” Wrong.  More research tells us that the more I understand why this task is important to you, the more effectively I will get the work done on time.  

Part  3  – “Who” is finding the right person to do the task and knowing why they’re the right one. In addition to being willing, are they capable?  What do I need to do to assure success?

Part 4 – When? Whether for check-backs, feedback or completion date – be specific. Note the task’s completion date and, in the case of an employee with no track record, check up on him or her.

Loosen the check-back cycle as a person proves him or herself. Don’t assume because they say “I’ve got it!” that they do.   

The ever-growing data for my clients is that with first-time delegation more clarity about expectations and support is better than less if you want success.  

In parts 4 and 5, the newer a person is to being given the responsibility for a task, the earlier and more often check backs will support success.

At Part 4 of delegation, the subtle hint and scent of accountability and consequence gets stronger in the air.

Part 5 – How will this get done successfully? What steps will you take?  What additional resources are needed?  This is where the guidance you or I may be able to share as a resource can be nothing short of profound.  

Where is accountability and consequence now? Can you feel the tension begin to mount?  

Part 6 – Check for understanding, including support, needs, assumptions and exact expectations. At this point, I always revel in the simple getting more complex. Each part now begins to integrate. Each standalone piece we’ve covered in parts 4, 5 and 6 tie together now to ensure success. Are resources needed at hand? Is dialogue happening that needs to? Is a mentor mentoring?  

As we start to integrate these six parts of delegation, accountability and consequence, they begin heightening our awareness more, and we segue “from” delegation “to” accountability and consequence.

About Accountability
From delegation, let’s move not so subtly to accountability and consequence. Clearly, to have effective delegation there’s got to be accountability, for sure. The simple accountability conversation for us as leaders is to ask others: “Who is accountable?”  

What stands out for me today as I write this column is an obvious but often unspoken element of accountability:  What’s my accountability as the leader if the delegated issue isn’t accomplished effectively?

In recent years, the political environment in the United States hasn’t provided us very good modeling about top leadership accountability.   

Without going further on that front, ask yourself what your responsibility is to ultimately be accountable if a project fails.

It’s easy to point fingers around all over the place when delegated effort doesn’t function well.  

Not sure about you, but I can own for myself. Here’s paradox, though: Delegate, but be aware of accountability. Delegate and be aware of the consequences. Are accountability and consequence consistent?  

This functional tension oftentimes gets us stuck in habits of ineffective delegation or inconsistent accountability. I invite anyone who desires meaningful leadership and effective delegation skills to constantly stay conscious of this paradox – the darn thing can get in our way and stop growth.

Key to Consequence
I’m reminded of an old Tom Watson story from the early days at IBM. In the story, a young 30-something IBM exec single-handedly loses a few million bucks in the ’50s. This is real money.

Watson calls the young leader in his office. Thinking he’s been called in to be fired, the young exec sits quietly while Watson waxes about a new project and next steps. Finally – unable to take it any longer – the young man dares to interrupt Watson.

“Mr. Watson, I’m really confused,” he says. “You’re telling me about a new project. I thought you called me in your office to fire me.”

At this, Watson leans toward the young man from across his desk, “Fire you?”  With a look of incredulity, Watson continues, “I just invested millions in you!”  

So, what is consequence? Certainly repeating the same mistake twice is not a smart business proposition. At the same time, if forward momentum is more or less constant, how many of us haven’t slipped along the way?

As leaders, it’s our job to raise the bar, the higher the better. That said, the higher the bar, the more specific the quest better be. Otherwise who’s not accountable?  
    
Accepting Delegation
To delegate or not, I might as well ask: Grow or not?  We ask our leaders to step up into new learning; to accept responsibility and the risk associated. We ask them to be accountable.

We make clear or don’t, the reality of consequence. I invite you to ask questions I pose to myself constantly: Do I share the importance of delegation, accountability and consequence with the leaders in my company?  Do I own it for myself?  

Rudy M. Miick, FCSI, president of Miick & Associates, can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 720-641-7565.