Leadership Skill: Delegation

Category: Leader Skills

As a leader you will find yourself in seasons where the load is too great for you alone to handle. Sometimes it's because of the blessing of ministry growth. Perhaps it's the result of an unforeseeable event or crisis. Or, it might be due to personal issues. These times call for the assigning of some of your normal responsibilities to other people -- delegation, a skill you need to master.
 
If you don't delegate, you will tend to focus on the higher priority or immediate needs. Lower priority or routine work will tend to get pushed to the side or be accomplished with minimal quality. If left undone, those tasks usually build up and become overwhelming and more stressful when you finally do get to them. If done poorly, you might find yourself later needing to redo them, taking up more of your time.

Two Pitfalls in Delegation - How We Delegate Matters

Leaders must be careful that the way they delegate doesn't counteract the good in delegating. Here are two pitfall that contradict God's ways, requiring that we take measures to avoid going to either extreme.

  1. maintaining too much control

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. ... just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt. 20:25-28)

  1. not providing enough accountability
.. . . so in Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Rom. 12:5)
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Eph. 5:21)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other (James 5:16)
Do not lie to each other ... (Col. 3:9)
Also Read: Avoiding Pitfalls of Delegation

Posts in the Practicum about Delegation:

The Practicum on this site runs the leadership skill of delegating through the grid of the basics of life in Christ like His purpose, design, and mission for the Church as well as the character and power needed to pursue His ways. Applying these truths when delegating will help prevent falling into the pitfalls mentioned above.


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