DELEGATION
Mark McKelson - Leadership Consultant
When I look back at my first year as principal I laugh at how much of a control freak I must have been. I had to be in every meeting, read over every communication, process and policy. They said I was micro-managing them and i probably was. I wanted to improve the results, develop the staff, improve the facilities, apply for grants and everything else. I was working twelve to fourteen hours a day and it wasn’t sustainable. Your people are your key resource and you need to spend the majority of your time investing in their development. You need them to do the groundwork and you support them along the journey. Along the way something changed, it didn’t happen overnight but when I looked back two years later, my workload had reduced significantly.
When we first assume a coordinator or leader role, we take on the extra work and have extremely late nights because we assume more responsibility means more work. This couldn’t be further from truth, because someone has seen that we have the capacity to work well with people and support them to do the work with you. Our leaders talk about delegation but do we practice this and support others or are we too focussed on our own careers?
You don’t have a choice once you assume a principal role. I had to get over a few hurdles to let myself hand over responsibility. We have high expectations of ourselves but does this turn into over the top pressure on our staff. I think there are a few main reasons why we don’t delegate enough. There are probably more but im going to focus on these four:
They won’t do it as well as i can
I can’t delegate what i don’t know how to do
They are talking about workload
They will think its my job
A friend of mine uses the 80% rule. As in 80% of what she would put in is good enough. What I like about the rule is that you give yourself permission to let go a little. As a new principal you really don’t know enough about your teams capacity to judge too harshly. If staff are willing to have a go start coaching and supporting them.
No one has a handle on all aspects of the job. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, so don’t let this get in the way of delegating. I can understand why you wouldn’t delegate what you don’t know how to do. I think what’s more important is knowing how to find out. Don’t let your pride get in the way, if they come and ask and you don’t know, tell them you will find out. You can spend endless hours scouring the DET site or you can call a mentor, principal friend or your SEIL. We are all here to help!
I might be a tough taskmaster but I have to bite my tongue anytime a teacher comes in and complains about workload. I try and turn the conversation to learning very quickly. I ask them to reflect on how much they are learning and can they see the growth in themselves and the impact this is having. If leaders are complaining about workload it’s a great opportunity to talk about delegation and building their leadership skills.
We all feel bad when the first time we delegate. We feel guilty that we are the leaders, we are getting paid more and we should be doing the work. You need to remember that you are getting paid to lead! Leading is collaborating, coaching, consulting and mentoring. We need to focus on this and have the coaching conversations from day one. The quicker you can build capacity and develop confidence the easier it will be to delegate.
When deciding what to delegate, I think you have to take control of the vision, strategic plan, AIP, budget, staffing and oversee the data and curriculum. In terms of student wellbeing, OHS, buildings and grounds, VIT and PDP all of these can be delegated. You need to know what’s going on, but you can oversee and develop the team. For the areas I’m concerned about I agenda at leadership meetings and let the team give the feedback. This helps take the pressure off you in terms of making all the decisions and improving their performance.
When allocating tasks it’s imperative that you set a timeline. I like setting the timeline during the leadership meeting as its makes us accountable to each other. No one wants to let the team down and if they do they have to explain to the team not just you. It’s more powerful and sets the tone for the future.
You have to be prepared for the coaching conversations and these take time. We aren’t teaching maths or science anymore, we are teaching teachers, leaders, psychologists, business managers and parents. Unless you can get your head into the delegation space and have the conviction to believe in yourself and your skills as a coach and mentor, you are going to be overloaded. I’m not saying you should give up everything. Look for the strengths in your team, assign tasks and give yourself the time to support them. Start delegating as soon as you get the opportunity, your future self will thank you.
