I mentioned two days ago that you need to make it possible for leaders on your team to fail in order to grow. But how do you do that without putting them, their careers, and the organization at risk?
Facing potential failure is scary. But when you support your leaders, you can provide a safety net that converts failure from a fatality to simple feedback.
First, when you delegate, make sure that the parameters of the delegation are clear. What are the boundaries? At what time, or under what conditions, will they need to check in with you? Give them enough freedom to make and implement decisions that might not work, but ask for check-ins that give you a chance to help with recovery. Michael Hyatt describes Five Levels of Delegation that can help with this clarity.
Second, highlight common danger areas where people tend to trip up, or where an evaluation process or real-world conditions may create a difficulty they may not expect.
Third, when you do need to intervene with recovery, use a coaching approach to help them expand their own thinking, rather than stepping in with a specific solution.
Fourth, hold them accountable for their results within the context of your team. But to anyone outside the team, be their shield and take full responsibility for the outcome of the process in which you chose to delegate. And if you’re not willing to take the public blame for any failure, then reconsider whether this project is really a good candidate for delegation.
And if you’d like to explore your team’s risk tolerance further, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk to start the conversation.
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