Questions to Determine if You’re a Good Delegator

I’ve said for years that you either “Delegate or Suffocate.” Much of today’s leadership: Tiredness, sleeplessness, Exhaustion and Burnout is partly due to not learning, and knowing, what to delegate. Chuck Lawless gives us some excellent questions to ask ourselves to determine how we are doing before it becomes harmful to us and our leadership.

Guest Post by Chuck Lawless

Last week, I published a blog post at Church Answers titled, “A Quiz for Those of Us who Don’t Delegate Well.” That post, combined with this one, can help us evaluate our own ministries in terms of delegation. One of the ways I assess my own delegation is to keep these questions in mind as I evaluate my leadership:

1. Who are the people I’m equipping to do ministry beyond me? If I can’t name anyone, I’m probably not the best at delegating. I probably hold on to too much.
2. Am I following up behind people to make sure they’ve done things the way I want them done? If so, I’m still using my time unwisely. It’s one thing to hold people accountable; it’s another thing to constantly “fix” their work.
3. Do others who know me well remind me that I need to delegate more? My wife is especially helpful here, and Thom Rainer is a model for me. I just need to listen to them more.
4. If the Lord calls me home today, will the work of my ministry continue without much delay or hindrance? As a pastor and a seminary dean, I must ask this question in light of both ministry responsibilities. If the work stops because I’m not here, I’ve made myself too much the center of the ministries.
5. Do I believe I can do most things I do better than anyone else can? My head wants to answer “no” to that question, but integrity demands that I recognize my arrogance. Pride keeps me from delegating at times.
6. Do I utilize well the efforts of my administrative and research assistants? They want to help me—in fact, they’re fully committed to that work—but I often fail to lean on them like I should.
7. Do I ever let others know (either subtly or directly) how busy I am? If I do, my motive is probably not pure; and, it likely reflects the fact that I’m carrying too much of the weight myself.
8. Do I sometimes get lost in the details when I should be casting vision more? I’m naturally a detail person, so I have to fight this tendency in order to do my jobs well. I stop casting vision when I’m always in the weeds.
9. Do I often redirect my team’s thinking or decisions? If I ask for their input but often revise it, I’m not trusting the people to whom I need to delegate.
10. Am I just overwhelmed in general with my responsibilities? If so, I’ve either made too many commitments or I’m delegating far too little. Either one is a problem.