Five Rules of Delegation to Ensure No One Has Power
Posted by Liz Strauss · 6 Comments
This message goes out to insecure managers. It’s for those who fear someone working for you might take your job, that someone might be successful, more successful than you are.
If you follow these five rules of delegation, you can ensure they’ll never have any power.
- Change your team’s priorities on a regular basis. Make each day a moving target. As soon as they start to look good at one thing, place your focus on a different aspect of the job.
- Don’t allow them time to develop a realistic work schedule. Ask for a schedule before they have enough information to make one. Then hold them to the dates they planned on it.
- Develop a budget, but don’t show it to them. They have to ask permission for every paperclip they need to use.
- Focus heavily on quality standard that schedule and budget will not allow the team to produce.
- Hold team members responsible for the work of others over whom they have no control.
This will for sure keep your team “on their toes” and so busy trying to make something happen, they won’t have a chance to look at or look good enough to threaten your job.
On the other hand, you will have threatend it yourself. Bad leadership is it’s own reward.
Liz Strauss



And rule 6 is in the title ;-):
Confuse them at the first glance.
Sorry, Liz, couldn’t resist, just blame it - as a manager would - on my double Dutch English, always questioning everything I read, to make sure I’m reading what I’m supposed to be reading (heavily influenced by rule 1).
Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
I know,
I just saw that myself. Too funny. I shouldn’t write when I have other things on my mind.
But your rule “Confuse them at a glance” is a great one !!
Glad to be of ‘extra’ help
Karin H.
Glad I have you to count on when I’m napping.
Great stuff Liz. You don’t happen to read a little John Maxwell do you?
Hi Martin!
No I don’t think I have ever read him. BUT I have had a few really bad bosses. I was thinking of one when I wrote this.