Delegating authority: a two-way traffic

 

As a leader, how well do you delegate authority?

• Do you feel comfortable dishing out a portion of your authority to a subordinate?
• Can you get busy elsewhere knowing your collaborator or assistant is doing a great job even in your absence?
• Do you give the opportunity to your collaborators to put their own gifts and talents to use?
• Will you protect, defend and back those you’ve delegated to represent you?
• Are you afraid to lose some of your authority if you gave part away?
• Do you feel threatened when your collaborator or associate seems to be doing a better job?
• Do you delegate authority and then stifle it by your attitude towards those you’ve delegated?

How well do you as a subordinate represent your superior?

• Do you take the tasks assigned to you seriously?
• Do you represent in such a way as to give a positive image of the one you represent?
• Are you accountable and responsible to the one who delegated you?
• Do you try to take more authority than you were assigned?
• Do you intentionally sabotage your superior when acting by delegation so as to become more popular than them?
• Can your superior trust to have you sit in for him next time?

Every human being is a delegated authority. God has delegated all of us to represent Him on the earth. How well do we do it?

As the leader, can you trust others like God has trusted you?

When you get delegated by a superior at work, how do you handle that responsibility?

Share your thoughts.

 

When people leave

Every leader will experience this at least once in a life time; people who choose to leave rather than stay. You’ve worked together, you’ve planned the future together; you’ve even invested a great deal into their lives, then one day they choose to leave the church, business, company, brand …

This can be a fairly bitter pill to swallow especially when they leave at a time you really need their services. It is therefore important to prepare oneself against such an eventuality by keeping it in mind that no matter how well you treat your team members some will always have a reason to leave.

• Search for greener pastures
• Discontent about some issue (for instance your leadership style).
• Call to other duties
• Incapacitation

The list continues.

As the leader, your reaction to this will reflect your level of maturity and the quality of your leadership. How will you react to such a situation?

• Brand them as traitors and unfaithful collaborators?
• Accuse a competitor for taking away (stealing) your members/customers?
• Accuse the devil for coming after you?
• Just slump into your seat and hope it doesn’t happen another time?

Rather than look around for whom to blame why not do a thorough self-examination?

• Am I giving them what they need?
• Do I know what they need?
• Do they feel fulfilled working with me?
• Have I done something wrong?
• Have I been listening to their complaints?
• Have I departed from the original vision they submitted to?
• Am I a good leader? Will I like to submit under my own leadership?

A good leader takes the blame first before investigating the cause.

It’s not wise to quickly name and blame others while exempting yourself from the responsibility.

It could be an opportunity for you to go in for self-improvement.

Very few people will choose to leave a winning team and even fewer still, will quit a place where they get satisfaction.

And if you think you gave them the best, but they left anyway, you will have a cool head and a clean conscience.

Some people come into our lives for a reason, some for a season and some for life. Get to know who is in your life and for what purpose.

Leadership: the home scenario

How do I strike a balance between my role as a parent and a leader in my home?

The home is a place where we expect the highest level of love, acceptance and understanding. We see it as a duty the other party is supposed to do; it’s not a favor we are demanding. So giving and receiving love, acceptance and understanding is almost synonymous to home life.

However, parents at the same time are expected to place themselves in a leadership role with all it entails. This could become really tricky if not well-handled. This can actually get out of hand if both parties misunderstand the role they are supposed to play. This could have very unpredictable consequences.

Based on my own experiences as a child growing up in a home, and as now a parent entrusted with the responsibility of leading my home, I will share some of the things I have learned so far.

• Love with discipline
• Discipline with love
• Talk less and do more
• Explain less, demonstrate more
• Preach less, practice more
• Don’t cry too often before your kids
• Go for a walk when you feel like raising a fist
• Don’t let your bleeding heart be seen on your face
• Be real without being too vulnerable
• Plan for pleasant surprises; don’t let the unpleasant ones become the order.

I wish a happy home to you all. Home sweet home!