Delegation means more than giving orders or simply assigning tasks. Rather, to delegate means to involve someone in an endeavor by coordinating his or her efforts with one's own goals. Before delegation can be implemented it must be understood that it is not done in a vacuum. In order to know where delegation fits in the overall scheme of leadership one needs to start with the church's specific VISION. From vision stems MISSION. Within mission stems specific OBJECTIVES. Objectives have their own cycle: plan, delegate, supervise, and review the task. Notice delegation follows team planning.
When we delegate work to someone on our church staff or our lay leadership we have delegated the work to them only in the broad sense of the word. Here is how someone can delegate with precision:
The How to of Delegation
1. Write a plain description (versus clear communication) for the duty or task at hand (eg. similar to a job description). We must both agree with the team member about his or her position. What kind of responsibilities will we hand over to that person? What will that person be prepared to accept? Without a written statement of the person's role and oversight we typically end up with miscommunication even when we communicate clearly. I have often invited an executive staffer to sit in on a conversation between another staff member and myself. The executive staffer has often told me that you are hearing what your staffer is not saying and vice versa.
This written task is also especially difficult in a day and age when there can be so many new and specific roles in ministry with our techno-lingo applications. For example, define the difference between web designer, web developer, web outsourcer, web creator, and web maintainer? Now attempt to put those positions into three different person's tasks all connected to one larger task and communicate it all in one or two sittings? Is it any wonder miscommunication occurs in today’s culture?
2. Give authority to handle the responsibility. For an associate to take the task seriously, we must take the associate seriously. We must support them in two tangible ways: a. through supervision and review (i.e. constructive criticism, positive feedback, as well as signs of appreciation to make a person feel included and not ignored). b. The associate must be granted authority and provided the resources to accomplish the task; otherwise we have not really delegated. Without resources and authority people will not own the task at hand. Will they make mistakes? Absolutely, and you probably could have protected them if you were more involved in the process but then again you have not delegated effectively and your own duties would have suffered. It is better to let people make mistakes along the way and learn from them, but as a wise pastor once taught me, "let them make mistakes, of course... just don't let them make the really big mistakes!" I am gratefully humbled that I was not berated or fired for my past mistakes.
As we learn more about our leadership style for delegation, we will increase our potential for success. We will learn about our weaknesses and our strengths. We will also be able to respond to the needs of those who we are called to lead, and more importantly, we will be able to effectively delegate so that our work and their work accomplishes the Lord's work.
God bless you,
Robert Decker
Lead Pastor of Triad Baptist Church
Check out Pastor Rob's biography and information at www.tbcnow.org