The Cost of Unclear Expectations: A Cautionary Tale
I once embarked on a training initiative with a company that, despite everyone's best intentions, never quite got off the ground. For two and a half years, the training—a crucial component for legal compliance—remained unimplemented. The project was stuck in an endless loop of revisions, frustrations, and ultimately, inaction.
The root of the problem lay in a fundamental disconnect between perceived authority and practical reality. I was assured by the individual requesting the training that I had full autonomy to design and implement the program as I saw fit. I was confident I could deliver significant value. However, each time I submitted a draft, it was rejected, sending me back to the drawing board. This wasn't a matter of minor tweaks; it was a complete overhaul each time, driven by shifting goalposts and unarticulated expectations.
The lesson learned from this experience was profound and became a cornerstone of my approach to business growth and operational excellence: set clear expectations and boundaries upfront, then empower your team with the genuine authority to do their work.
The Illusion of Delegation Without Empowerment
Many leaders believe they are delegating when they simply assign tasks. But true delegation goes beyond task assignment; it involves entrusting responsibility and authority. Without the latter, what you have isn't delegation, but glorified task management, often leading to frustration and inefficiency.
Think about it: when you hire talented individuals, you're investing in their skills, expertise, and judgment. Why then, would you hobble them by withholding the authority necessary to execute the very tasks you've entrusted them with? It’s like buying a high-performance sports car and then restricting it to a 25 mph speed limit. You're simply not getting the return on your investment.
Trust: The Foundation of Effective Delegation
This brings us to the critical role of trust. If you've done your job during the hiring process – if you’ve hired right – you should be able to trust your team to execute the work you've hired them for. This trust isn't blind; it's built on a foundation of clear communication, well-defined roles, and a shared understanding of objectives.
As Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust, aptly puts it: "Trust is the one thing that changes everything." When trust is present, teams move faster, innovate more, and achieve better results. When it's absent, every decision is questioned, every action is scrutinized, and progress grinds to a halt.
The Power of Clarity: Defining Expectations, Not Just Tasks
The anecdote of the stalled training initiative perfectly illustrates this point. My manager believed she was giving me authority, but her subsequent actions demonstrated a lack of clarity in her own expectations. If I had truly been empowered, my drafts would have been met with constructive feedback aimed at refinement, not wholesale rejection and a return to square one. The onus was on her to articulate precisely what she envisioned, what success looked like, and what constraints existed, before I began the work.
This is where many leaders falter. They issue vague instructions, assume their team can read their minds, or are simply unclear themselves about the desired outcome. The result is a cycle of rework, missed deadlines, and mutual frustration.
Here are some tips to avoid this:
Be Specific: Don't just say "improve customer satisfaction." Define what that means: "Achieve an average customer satisfaction score of 4.5 out of 5 stars on post-service surveys within the next quarter."
Define Boundaries and Resources: What are the non-negotiables? What budget is available? What resources (time, personnel, tools) can the team access?
Outline Desired Outcomes, Not Just Processes: Focus on what needs to be achieved, not necessarily how every step should be taken. Allow your team the freedom to innovate and find the best path to the desired outcome.
Establish Check-in Points: Agree on regular check-ins, not to micromanage, but to offer support, answer questions, and course-correct if necessary. These are opportunities for collaboration, not interrogation.
When Things Go Wrong: Look Inward First
Here's a hard truth that every leader needs to embrace: If you're not getting the results you want from your team, more often than not, it's your fault, not theirs.
This isn't about blame; it's about accountability. If your team is struggling, it's typically due to one of these reasons:
Unclear Expectations: You haven't articulated what success looks like, what the priorities are, or what constraints exist.
Lack of Resources/Support: You've given them a task but haven't provided the necessary tools, information, or support to complete it.
Insufficient Authority: You've assigned the responsibility but withheld the authority to make decisions and implement solutions.
Hiring Mismatch: You haven't hired the right person for the role, in which case the responsibility for that hiring decision lies with you.
In the case of my training initiative, the issue was unequivocally the first and third points. Had the expectations been crystal clear from the outset, and had I been granted the practical authority to proceed within those parameters, the project would have been completed efficiently and effectively.
Empowering Your Team for Unprecedented Success
When you truly empower your team, amazing things happen. You foster a culture of ownership, innovation, and high performance. Your team members feel valued, trusted, and motivated to go above and beyond.
As legendary business leader Jack Welch once said, "Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." Empowerment is the ultimate growth accelerator for your team and, by extension, your entire organization.
Actionable Steps for Genuine Empowerment
Ready to transform your leadership approach and unlock your team's full potential? Here’s how you can start:
Define Done: Before delegating any task or project, clearly define what "done" looks like. What are the specific deliverables, quality standards, and timelines?
Communicate the "Why": Help your team understand the purpose behind the work. How does it contribute to the larger company goals? This context provides motivation and helps them make better decisions.
Grant Authority Commensurate with Responsibility: If someone is responsible for a task, they must have the authority to make the necessary decisions and access the required resources to complete it.
Provide Support, Not Solutions: Be available to answer questions and offer guidance, but resist the urge to jump in and "fix" things or dictate every step. Let your team problem-solve.
Foster a Safe Environment for Learning: Encourage experimentation and view mistakes as learning opportunities, not failures. This builds confidence and encourages initiative.
By embracing these principles, you'll move beyond simply assigning tasks to truly empowering your team. You'll cultivate an environment where talent thrives, initiatives are successfully implemented, and your business achieves sustainable growth.
Key Takeaways
True delegation involves both responsibility and authority.
Clear expectations are paramount; vague instructions lead to frustration and rework.
Trust is the bedrock of effective empowerment.
If your team isn't delivering, look at your own clarity, support, and delegation practices first.
Empowering your team fosters ownership, innovation, and accelerates business growth.
Contact me today at (425) 216-6163 to discuss how I can help you implement clear processes and empower your team for unparalleled success.
