The three magic words of delegation

Delegation is where the payback for being a good leader happens.

When we have:

the right person in the right place
a person who understands what is expected
a person whose judgement we trust
and a situation where we are willing to live with the consequences of that person’s decisions

Then we can utter the three magic words:

“It’s your call.”

The key is really meaning it. That means no second guessing the person, or overriding their decision after the fact (unless it is completely crazy, in which case we need to take the blame for uttering the magic words to someone we should not have or for an issue we should not have). If we can develop a reputation as a leader that really means it when they say “It’s your call”, then we are crossing a barrier that many leaders never do.

The goal is to substitute our team’s judgement for our own. This is how we create some freedom for ourselves, and it’s how we create the next generation of leaders.

This post was inspired in part by the work of Linton Sellen.

IBEX Payroll extends our profound respect and immeasurable gratitude to all the ancestors and keepers of the land on whose traditional territories our work takes place. We acknowledge that we are on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional gathering place of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene people and the traditional homeland of the Métis people. This land is sacred, historical, and significant.

Every time we acknowledge this truth, we have an invitation and an opportunity to reflect on the wrongs of the past, what we do in the present, and what we can do to continually honour the people whose lands and water we benefit from today.

This statement only acts as a first step in honouring the land we reside on and its peoples, and must be paired with education, understanding and informed action.