I’m frequently asked, “what do you wish you’d known when you first started your position as a department head or dean?” I’ll use this space to reflect on the many answers!

I was appointed Director of the International Studies Program at Miami University in 2002. I had been promoted and tenured four years earlier and was the most junior member of an interdisciplinary program that ran like a small department. I felt ready, but also a bit insecure about others’ perceptions of my qualifications.

Insecurity + No Delegation = No Way to Lead

I now see that I managed that insecurity with an “I’ll take care of everything!” approach designed to convince others of my competence. I delegated almost nothing and went overboard on attending to details. I even went apartment hunting for an incoming visiting lecturer.

On my honest days, I can see that my approach was motivated by other factors rooted in my own psyche as well. The first is that I like doing things my way; taking control ensured that my standards would be enforced.

The second is that I was (and mostly remain) terrified of people disliking or disapproving of me. My taking on all the tasks meant that I asked very little of my colleagues. In so doing, I hoped that they would be pleased. I imagined them thinking, “Working for Jeanne is so easy and delightful!”

Why does lack of delegation fail?

You can probably imagine why this strategy fails in the long term.

First, once I’d established my “I’ll take care of it!” approach, others quickly became accustomed to relying on me for all the administrative and other work. The International Studies Program grew dramatically during my tenure. We nearly tripled the number of undergraduate majors and added two tenured faculty lines and several lecturer lines.

Growth in the program and in my own confidence led me to try to delegate more, but by then the faculty assumed they were exempt from support work. I had shown them I didn’t need them, and they had built their work routines around that understanding.

The more damaging aspect of my approach was that it excluded others’ participation and input. The “I’ll do it” approach was efficient and got things done the way I wanted them.

But it was not inclusive. Nor did it allow me to learn from my colleagues’ different approaches.

Key Takeaways for Delegation

Delegate from the start. It’s very difficult to introduce delegation strategies once you’ve established a pattern of doing everything yourself.

Include others in the running of the department. An inclusive approach keeps them engaged, ensures their perspectives inform you, and teaches you the value of others’ ways of doing things.