Building Capacity by Giving Away Responsibility

As a leader, do you build capacity by giving things away?

Entrusting the responsibility for a project to someone else can be tough. But if you don't rely on others, you'll always end up doing everything yourself...and you don't build capacity within your school/organization.  Essentially, you'll shortchange those who could learn by taking on new tasks. Once you delegate something, don't be tempted to micromanage the process. Agree on the expected outcomes and just let go. If you've asked a team member to take care of an important presentation, don't spend endless time on edits and corrections. Be clear on the parameters and remove yourself so she can do it her way, not yours. This is much more efficient than taking over, and the end product will likely be better.

Remember.....great leaders are always trying to do themselves out of a job.



Adapted from "Be More Productive by Making Better Daily Choices" by Ana Dutra.

How do you plan for unintended outcomes?

As a leader, how do you plan for unintended outcomes? Unintended consequences are common in school/organizations. Well-meaning leaders often implement new policies or practices only to find that in addition to what they envisioned, they've also created problems. You can't predict the future, but you can help mitigate the negative with these two steps: Plan ahead as much as you can. Gather the people the change will impact and plan to see what might happen, keeping in mind that there will always be something that surprises you later. Test the waters. Conduct short, focused experiments to see how various parties will react, and use the results to adjust your plan. You can't eliminate all negative possibilities but you can get ready to deal with them. Adapted from "Be Prepared for What You Don't See Coming" by Ron Ashkenas.