Micromanagement vs Delegation

Picture the scene: dead-smack in the middle of Switzerland lies the city of Thun. It doesn’t get more Swiss than this: a perfect blue lake, old castles, and snowcapped peaks surround it.

In August of 2009, Thun hosted the freestyle kayak world championships. And the International Canoe Federation (ICF) had chosen yours truly to be the head judge of the competition.

As the head judge, I was responsible for three main things:

1. Competitor safety on the water

2. Correct application of regulations

3. Crowning the right World Champions

So after months of planning, I traveled to Thun to join the organizing committee two weeks before the event started.

Before we could start the competition, there were loads of things to sort out. From making sure that Eurosports’s TV crane was not interfering with the judges’ view to testing the timekeeping system, and from bad weather protocols to last-minute changes to registrations.

As you’ve probably guessed, it was quite the project.

And while years of planning had gone into it, a lot of small decisions had to be taken on-site. Most of those were in the plan, with a range set but the final call taken using actual circumstances.

As the start of the event drew closer, more ICF officials started showing up. And as they trickled in, they all did the same…

They came over to the organizer’s office, checked how it was going, and asked if they could be of any help.

Incredible.

These high-ranked officials knew that if this competition failed, they failed. And yet - full trust and support.

It’s as if your entire board of directors shows up one by one, checks in on your project, gives you the thumbs up, and asks how they can help.

Until…

Until one of them showed up and asked for a quick chat.

“Sure” I said, and I joined him outside.

There he sat, on a corner of the grandstands. I can still picture the scene.

Next to him was a pile of white binders. And I was in for a treat.

He opened the first binder and started at paragraph 1.

“Did you do this?” he asked….

“And how was that decided?” he continued…

My first reaction was to answer his questions. He was, after all, someone way above me in the food chain.

Until I realized what was going on. This guy was teaching me a lesson.

A lesson in micromanagement.

You see, none of his questions were crazy. He was just checking if I had done everything by the book.

But his timing was… let’s just keep it at “a little off”.

I’d been given clear directions with a matching mandate, and I was doing the job to the best of my abilities. I'm sure I had made a couple of wrong calls along the way, but overall we were headed in the right direction.

To come in 2 days before the start of the event and question every minor decision I had made over the past two weeks for no other reason than checking on me… no thanks.

Thankfully, his boss agreed, and the whole situation was put behind us quickly.

But I’ve never forgotten about the contrast.

The contrast between him and his peers. How most of them set a fantastic example of leadership, and how different his approach was.

The thing is, delegation is hard.

As a project leader, you’re constantly delegating.

And what I hope you take away from this is the difference between delegating goals and delegating tasks.

Because I was delegated a goal, but he treated it as a set of tasks.

It sounds like a minor difference, but the impact is huge. So next time you delegate something, think about it for a second.

Which official are you?

Give them the why & what, agree on when & who, and let them figure out the how. Because if they can’t, they shouldn’t be on your team in the first place.

Your job is to give directions, set boundaries, provide resources, clear roadblocks, and cheer them on.

And while we could talk for days about delegation, here’s a quick 3-step checklist I often use:

1. Tell → explain what you want

2. Show → your definition of success

3. Check → manage mutual expectations

A great way to do the last one is to ask someone to explain in their own words what they're about to do.

Let them explain how they understood it, what their approach is, and what they need. Once you both agree, get the heck out of the way.

Talk soon,
Jasper

PS: Last week I explained that I’m going all-in for 2024, and lots of people have asked how they can get involved.

I can’t share much detail yet, but I’m starting a membership community for project managers.

A place to connect with peers, access playbooks & tools, and get solutions to your challenges.

If you want to join a small group of early adopters and shape it together with me, you can sign up today for half-price for the life of your membership. Just reply with “solved” if you want to learn more.