The process of delegation is always a painful one, because it increases the level of risk that sometimes leaders are not prepared to manage. But what is the price to pay for not assigning responsibilities and giving autonomy to our teams?

As leaders, we must create systems so that all functions are performed well, even in our absence. To do this, we must train people according to the system and control it.

The process of systematization is about testing a procedure, i.e., performing the task once and documenting the whole process so that everyone who passes through that place can reproduce it with the same level of quality. It involves testing and measuring the result until you find the right formula, and then establishing a control mechanism for the procedure itself. If everything has been tested beforehand, it will be much easier to correct any future failures.

In ideal circumstances, the position of the person in charge should be to manage the team, to organize it, to give them the necessary tools, to guarantee the methodology and systematization, the pace of execution, and the control of indicators.

It is absolutely essential to delegate. And this implies helping people to execute the task autonomously until the end. We must do this even if the first few times they make some mistakes. If we try to save our employees from error, or punish them severely, we will never have excellent employees. We must accompany them through the process and make sure that there are no misinterpretations that prevent them from reaching their goals.

Just as happens at home with our children, it is often easier for us to do something for them than to ask them to do it, and to correct when it is done wrong. The whole process of asking, checking that it is done right, explaining how it should have been done, and asking them to do it again the right way makes it seem more productive to do it ourselves right the first time. But what will happen the next time they have to do that task? In companies this same attitude happens all the time!

As leaders, we must create in our employees the habit of thinking. Only then will we get people involved and looking for solutions to problems.

“Henry Ford used to say that the true intelligent leaders are the ones who hire a much more intelligent team than themselves and their task is to lead them.”