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Delegate Often And Well

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Since a proactive leader is not about to spend his life sitting on the stool, he has three rules for getting others on the team to pitch in.

First, he appropriately delegates tasks and duties. You see he does not pass on his responsibilities. He is still responsible for the team’s success, but others on the team can and should help carry the load. This cannot be a whomever happens to be around process. a proactive leader is careful to only delegate to people who have the skills and know-how to get the job done, they have to be up to it.

Second, a proactive leader does not delegate a job to someone and then try to manage it himself or second-guess the person who was assigned the job. His reasons here are important.

a proactive leader is not going to sit on the stool and is not about to hover around just to be sure the job gets done or it is not screwed up. If he needs to do that, he might as well sit on the stool himself. More importantly, second guessing and a hands-on approach with delegated tasks would mean he did not have much confidence in the person given the assignment. If that is where it is, a proactive leader screwed up. He delegated inappropriately, he picked the wrong person to hold up the stool.

Third, a proactive leader always delegates enough authority so the person can get the job done. This does not mean he gives anyone an unlimited, free reign. What each person does must fit with everyone else’s activities. The team needs to work together as a team. At the same time, each team member needs the freedom and authority to do what needs done.

a proactive leader does not get into Mother, may I. It certainly is not a Check with me at every step along the way for authorization, approach for a proactive leader’s team. Those on the team are competent, make good choices and decisions, and can be trusted to do the right things right. If this is not true, a proactive leader needs to reexamine who is on his team and think about who may need to be replaced. Nonetheless, not to give people the authority they need to get the job done would mean that he does not quite trust, does not really believe. It would also mean he is still holding up the stool instead of getting on with getting on down the road.