Leading at Light Speed is a groundbreaking leadership book by Eric Douglas describing the 10 Quantum Leaps which build trust, spark innovation, and create a high-performing organization. Chapter 4 details how to Manage Decisions Well.

To lead at light speed means leading through others and leveraging their talents. It means decentralizing decision making. One of the keys is effective delegation that is inevitable.

The act of delegations is to trust someone other that yourself to make a decision. You may insist they consult with you. But once the decision is delegated, you must be prepared for a different decision than the one you might make yourself. Regardless of whom you delegate to That person has to be empowered They must listen to your views and suggestions but they must feel free to develope their own alternative solutions if they feel their alternative is a better choice.

You can delegate alot or just a litte. There's a huge difference between handing the controles of a submarine over to a new commander and delegating to a clerical worker a project to document the number of registered taxi cabs in a major metropolitan city.. Regardless, when you delegate, you delegate all the related tasks.

Delegation hinges on trust. Effective leaders prepare people by mentoring them carefully and providing them increasing levels of responsibility. Ideally, when you delegate, you turn over responsibility to someone whose judgment you’ve come to trust as much as your own. It is best to establish ground rules and principles which define how much communication you will net to feel comfortable and informed about other people's decisions.

Leaders need to be very focused on helping people succeed when they delegate. So what is flawless delegation? It involves the following five steps:

1. What are your expectations Define them Make a clear plan for how the outcome you want will be achieved. Provide context and background. What are the financial limitations or other constraints that must be considered Are their policies that must be adhered to legal limitations stakeholder issues You must make these clear. Define how you are going to measure success and failure. Explain how you wish to be consulted – and who else needs to be consulted. You should map the delegated decision and its relationship to the big picture The entire decisionmaking process.

2. Describe the quality you expect: This is typically best done through examples of past successes. Take some time Allow your employees to ask questions Claify your expectations. Does everyone on your team understand It is vital that they do.

3. Define your timetable What landmarks must be completed and when. Make sure deadlines are written down and distributed to all concerned.

4. Ask and provide assistance to your team Find out their individual needs. Is your employee ready to assume the tasks or project you want to give them. There is nothing wrong with offering some coaching even if it has not been requested.

5. Don’t micromanage: Once you’ve delegated a decision, don’t micromanage. It is ok to require written status reports. But be careful lest you be perceived as  reneging on your delegation.

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