PROF JAY: Good morning and welcome everyone! I am Professor Jay – your
teacher, planner, host, moderator, devil’s advocate, fellow student, and judge
– rolled into one. Together with you in this subject inside this classroom, we’ll
bring into play the case method teaching – the art of managing uncertainty. We’ll
try our best to search for solutions to real-world problems and challenges.
MATT: [Raising his hand] Sir, real people, and real events?
PROF JAY: Matt, real leaders especially, and national current events
preferably. Real leaders like Bonaparte, who, with archaic leadership, once
said, “If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” Business leader Henry
Ford tagged after that line and carried out his vision of Model T that
subsequently changed the face of American life. It’s a success story. But, there’s
the rub. Down the road, Ford was so in love with his creation that he rejected
outright an improved model his engineers had designed. To cut this story short,
as a result, his competitors caught up with his Model T and ultimately left it
far behind in innovations. Matt, as I said, not only will we deal with real
leaders, but also with national current events that all of you read every day
in the papers. Could anyone cite a parallel national situation with Ford’s case
in our country today?
PROF JAY: Yes, Tom. [Raising his hand]
TOM: In my view, there's a parallel with our President and his management style.
PROF JAY: Could you be specific, Tom?
TOM: He didn’t name a DOH head for some time now and said
to do so only once the Covid situation normalizes. I think he aspires to create
a “Model T-like thing” in DOH that he can call his own.
PROF JAY: Do
you have a problem with that, Pete? [Raising his hand]
PETE: I have an issue with its implication. By not appointing a
DOH head, he deprives himself of the potential of delegation – the act of
empowering his people to accomplish the tasks he has envisioned.
PROF JAY: Why won’t he appoint such a head when, in fact, it will effectively
accomplish his vision? Yes, John. [Raising his hand]
JOHN: He wants to be sure he can directly claim credit for any
achievement later in DOH without someone heading it.
PROF JAY: Any reactions? Yes, Mary. [Raising his hand]
MARY: Letting go of the credit is a mark of a great leader.
PROF JAY: Simon [raising his hand], do you buy Mary’s statement?
SIMON: Absolutely. It reveals humility and a team mentality – that’s
what servant leadership is all about.
PROF JAY: Reminds me of an eye-catching poster on a wall: “There’s no limit to
what one can do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.” Yes, Ann. [Raising his
hand]
ANN: He said there are matters that only the President can
do which could be his reason for not appointing a DOH head.
PROF JAY: Does everyone agree? Does anyone see it differently? Yes, James.
[Raising his hand]
JAMES: Delegation requires calculated risk-taking. It means he
won’t be holding the steering wheel anymore. When he says nobody can do about a
particular thing but himself, he’s giving into such fear of uncertainty in
risk-taking. Giving up control is a basic ingredient of leadership.
PROF JAY: Other perspectives? Yes, Beth. [Raising his hand]
BETH: He may still be looking for someone he can trust.
PROF JAY: Why is that important, Beth?
BETH: It’s a fact of life. When a leader delegates, it is
important that he does so to the right people.
PROF JAY: Is that right? Any concerns? Yes, Phil. [Raising his hand]
PHIL: Trust and loyalty are two peas in a pod. Often such
twin crowd out competence. For example, a trusted generalist is appointed to a
medical specialist position.
[After scrawling Phil’s condensed
comment, Prof Jay looks over all his scribblings alongside highlighting boxes
and interrelating arrows that have filled up the whole board.]
PROF JAY: Are we missing anything? Yes, Ted. (Raising his hand]
TED: Interestingly, just as he heads the DA, so, I would
say, not appointing a DOH head is like heading it too – both actions brushed
off the valuable delegating function.
[Prof Jay lowers down a new board signaling a transition to the next stage of his lesson plan. He condenses Ted’s statement and scribbles it on the board.]
PROF JAY: Who would like to build on Ted’s point? Yes, Paul. [Raising his
hand]
PAUL: Two points. First, heading two busy-as-a-bee departments,
let alone being the president, makes him appear hardworking – he equates
activities with accomplishments. Second, having tried in delegating before but
failed -- three cabinet secretaries resignations -- has made him feel uneasy
about his delegating function.
PROF JAY: Interesting perspectives. [He looks at the wall clock and figures
out he can’t cover his whole lesson plan if he discusses fully Paul’s two challenging
points at issue.] Why don’t we take that offline, Paul?
[After a long pause, taking
deep breaths, Prof Jay moves on to the finale of his lesson plan.]
PROF JAY: Any final comments before we move on? [Long pause] Now, moving on,
what are the implications of delegation specifically in our DOH case? Yes, Leah.
[Raising his hand]
LEAH: As a time saving-mechanism, delegation provides more time for the
President in focusing his precious limited time resources on more pressing
aspects of his tough presidential job.
PROF JAY: Other perspectives? Yes, Dave. [Raising his hand]
DAVE: As a developmental approach, delegation provides DOH people with more
opportunities to learn new skills. It shows that he trusts them which induces a
much-needed motivational boost and brings about loyalty and increased
performance.
PROF JAY: [He looks at the clock and figures out he can still briefly raise
Paul’s one challenging issue before he closes his lesson.] Paul mentioned the
past delegating failure of the President as may be one reason why he is holding
off his DOH head appointment. Why did his delegated people – the three resigned
cabinet members – fail in their job performance? Yes, Luke. [Raising his hand]
LUKE: He delegated the job to the wrong people. Yes, he trusted
them. But, real trust as the foundation of leadership rests on the bedrock of
competence and integrity. Public expectations of both solid-ground qualities
crumbled on the character of the people he had delegated.
PROF JAY: Thank you, everyone. Job well done. We just tasted a slice of the
art of managing uncertainty. In our search for solutions to real-world problems
and challenges, I mentioned in my opening statement we‘d deal with real
leaders. Let me close our lesson today with quotes from two leaders:
George
S. Patton: “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let
them surprise you with their results.”
Ronald
Reagan: “Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate
authority, and don’t interfere.”
When
all is said and done, it is worthy to note Jesus’ words in the Bible: “For I
have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the One who sent
me.” The same delegated authority he had received, he also gave to his
disciples in driving out impure spirits and in healing every disease and
sickness. Isn’t it amazing to know that delegated authority laid the foundation
of humanity?
Take
care, all!
[The school buzzer sounded.]
Head still photo courtesy of istockphotodotcom
A handful of nuts and bolts of the case method teaching and the essence of delegation in this article were adapted from the following references:
Teaching By The Case Method, Harvard Business School
9 Reasons Leaders Don’t Delegate, Transforming Leader dot org
Delegation In Management – Why Leaders Need To Delegate, Revolution Learning
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