Beware Reverse Delegation

 

Decision-making is an important part of what project leaders do. But that doesn’t mean they should make all the decisions.

You have talented people on your project team. Right? They have the technical skills and knowledge needed to execute the plan, to deliver value, to make stakeholders happy. But the other day, a couple members of the team asked you if they should go with technical option A or B. What do you do? In many cases, the best answer is to choose neither.

That’s because there are times when you should not decide, specifically in areas of expertise where the decision is better delegated. By making the decision in these situations, you are practicing "reverse delegation," and it can cause problems down the road.

When you make a decision that someone else has the expertise or experience to make, you are diminishing their ownership of the solution—and their investment in the entire project, for that matter. Worse, you’re shutting down an opportunity to build confidence in your team members that will help when other issues need to be faced in the future.

It's easy to fall into the reverse delegation trap, though—especially if you came up from a technical background. If you’ve become a project leader after years of working on technical issues, you might want to continue to oversee those decisions on your team. But remember, those technical folks on your team are like you once were, and they probably have more current knowledge about certain aspects of the project than you do.

So, make a conscious decision to delegate more decisions.

First, recognize that team members have a natural inclination to consult you. They know the project manager is the one person putting their reputation on the line for the project, and they want to know what you think. But remind team members of their role and value on the project.

Of course, it is still your responsibility as a project leader to examine whether there is an underlying problem that might hinder your team’s ability to make decisions. Ask yourself these questions and correct accordingly:

1. Do team members understand stakeholder values and project priorities? Set the stage early for good decisions by communicating clearly about the project charter, scope and stakeholder expectations—and how they relate to the decision criteria of cost, schedule and quality.

2. Do team members feel empowered to make decisions? Consider whether they are comfortable with and confident in their position. Some people want to give decisions back to the project manager so that they are free of the consequences.

And there will always be cases when you should still be the decider.

If the team can't agree, you need to break the deadlock so the project can proceed. Does one approach carry more risk than another, for example? But do this as infrequently as possible because ultimately it takes away some of the empowerment you had hoped to use to your project’s advantage.

You’ve been on teams, so you already know from experience that many, if not most, decisions are best made closest to where the actual work is being done. Now’s your turn as a leader to make sure that happens on your projects.