The Delegation Dip

Learning to Tolerate Good Enough for Long Enough When Delegating to Team Members

by Chanie Wilschanski, ECE Leadership Coach & Host of the Schools of Excellence Podcast

As the leader of your center, you’re the captain of your ship. It’s your job to keep your eyes on the horizon, looking out for icebergs to ensure your vessel and crew arrive safely at your destination.

With such a vital duty under your charge, it’s in your and your center’s best interest to spend as much time as possible on your responsibilities as a leader—meaning that delegation is both a useful and necessary aspect of your job.

But you know better than anyone that the delegation process is far from straightforward. As much as you’d love to hand off responsibilities to your team and ride off into the sunset, that’s rarely, if ever, how the scenario plays out.

Instead, the team member you entrust with that important task ends up slowing down the workflow, making mistakes, and requiring extra assistance to do their job properly.

And as frustrating as that can be, it’s actually a normal part of the process—and it has a name: the Delegation Dip.

Today, I’m exploring what the Delegation Dip is, how a misunderstanding of this phenomenon negatively influences your leadership, and what you can do instead to facilitate the growth and well-being of your team and center.

What is the Delegation Dip?

The Delegation Dip refers to the 3–6 month period after delegating a task during which there’s a marked decrease in productivity and efficiency. This temporary reduction in quality is a natural consequence of learning something new, and it affects everyone, no matter how skilled or experienced they may be in their profession.

Despite the fact that the Delegation Dip is a common and expected part of assigning a team member a new responsibility, leaders tend to get frustrated and impatient when the task isn’t completed to the standard they expect right from the get-go. Often, this leads to them reacting in ways that are detrimental not only to the team member’s growth, but also to the well-being of the center.

Keep reading to learn the three most common reactions leaders have to the Delegation Dip, where each reaction comes from, and what you can do instead to respond as a more grounded and self-aware leader.

1. Micromanaging

What It Looks Like: Over-communicating, over-explaining, constantly calling meetings

Why It Happens: A reaction to a deep-rooted fear, like failure or loss of control

How to Course-Correct: Have more humility, let go of the details, embrace failure

Micromanaging has far more to do with your relationship with yourself than the actual performance of your team member. Often, it stems from a deep-rooted fear of failure or losing control that leads to the compulsion to manage every detail of what’s happening around you.

One of the ways this can show up in your leadership is over-communicating or over-explaining instructions to try to control a situation—like telling your team member exactly how to respond to a parent’s email. You may also find yourself constantly calling meetings to discuss issues that could have been addressed through email or handled without your prior input.

If you see yourself falling into this pattern during the Delegation Dip, one of the first things you can do to approach the situation differently is act with humility. By this, I don’t mean thinking less of yourself, but simply thinking about yourself, less. Recognize that it’s your own fears driving your behavior and focus on what you can do to support—rather than control—your team member in adjusting to this new responsibility.

Another thing you can do is simply let go—let go of the details and try to see the bigger picture of your team member’s overall performance. Is the way they’re doing the task less efficient but still aligned with your center’s values? If so, take a deep breath and try to relinquish the desire for control. Efficiency can always be improved with time. What’s important is that the team member is committed to your center’s vision.

Finally, recognize that it’s okay to fail. Mistakes are part of the process, and they help us grow as individuals. If you know you’ve hired a team member who values learning, asks insightful questions, and responds well to feedback, trust that their mistakes will lessen with time, and that they’ll eventually reach the standard you’ve come to expect from them.

Want to learn more about micromanaging in the Delegation Dip? Check out this podcast episode to dive even deeper.

2. Neglect

What It Looks Like: Prolonged lack of supervision, absence of reciprocity, imbalance of interdependence, treating teachers like directors

Why It Happens: A team member is already highly capable and doesn’t require much training

How to Course-Correct: Incorporate feedback, remain consistent

While it’s important to give your team members space to fail, make sure you don’t go too far in the other direction by neglecting them altogether.

Neglect is a prolonged lack or absence of supervision and control of organizational development, and it most often occurs when a team member is already highly capable in their role. Because they can handle themselves and get by with very little direction, you may find yourself forgetting that they need any guidance at all after delegating a new responsibility.

Unfortunately, this leads to a continuous—though often unintentional—lack of supervision, which diminishes the trust between you and your team member. In severe cases of neglect, your relationship may become so dysfunctional that reciprocity vanishes and the team member enters a mode of total self-preservation.

If you recognize yourself neglecting one or more team members, there are a couple of things you can do to mend the relationship. First, provide them with feedback in the form of loving guidance and support. Even the most experienced hire needs some level of training and coaching—it just may look a little different.

Instead of offering them advice, help them develop awareness so they can solve problems on their own. In addition, check in with the team member regularly and ask them what they need support with so you can be confident you’re giving them the guidance they need.

Consistency is also important. Remember, neglect occurs over a period of continuous lack of supervision. If you turn that around and offer consistent support to your team member, you can build back the trust that was damaged.

Want to learn more about neglect in the Delegation Dip? Check out this podcast episode to dive even deeper.

Delegate with Confidence

Delegation is one of the biggest obstacles facing owners and directors, and it’s also one of the most important skills to master as a leader.

In our Owner’s HQ and Director’s Inner Circle membership programs, you’ll gain access to tools, resources, coaching, and community that will help you learn to delegate with confidence, so you can focus your attention on what matters most: building a legacy for your center.