DELEGATION: MOST LEADERS TALK ABOUT IT

DELEGATION: MOST LEADERS TALK ABOUT IT… VERY FEW ACTUALLY PRACTICE IT.

The other day, I was talking with a couple other Sergeants, joking around about delegation.

We were laughing, trading stories, giving each other grief like we always do, but in the middle of it, something hit me:

They didn’t actually understand what delegation really is.

They understood “assigning tasks.” They understood “getting things off their plate.”

But true delegation? That wasn’t on their radar.

And that’s not their fault.

It’s a leadership culture problem.

Too many people think delegation means telling someone, “Hey, go do this.”

That’s not delegation.

That’s task assignment.

Real delegation is empowerment.

It’s a tool that builds capacity, grows people, and strengthens the organization.

Here’s a quick story.

There was a call for service that an officer got during the shift. The officer had to do some background and get information from a cell phone carrier. I delegated this to the officer.

There was a couple of reasons I did that. Sure, I could’ve done it myself.

I felt it was a great learning opportunity for the young officer to go ahead and tackle. I then told the officer if he had any questions feel free to ask me. I didn’t assign him a task. I delegated something to him for a couple of reasons. First to learn the process, and to empower him.

I’ve learned that there are three pillars to delegation.

1. TRUST YOUR TEAM

This is the foundation.

If you don’t trust the person, you’re not delegating, you’re waiting for them to fail so you can step in.

Trust means believing in their competence and intentions.

And without trust, you’ll default to micromanagement every single time.

2. LET GO OF CONTROL

The hardest one for most leaders.

Delegation means accepting that the task may not be done your way.

But if the objective is met ethically and effectively, the path they take is part of their growth.

Autonomy builds ownership.

Ownership builds leaders.