and sometimes downright fishy
thoughts on Technology and Leadership
by Herb Bowie
Delegation is a Slippery Slope
The act of delegation is a slippery slope for managers. Yes, you want to figure out how not to be a bottleneck in your organization and, yes, you want to figure out how to scale, but you also want to continue to get your hands dirty. Members Only's problem was he believed his job was purely strategic. Think big thoughts; delegate the results of those thoughts to minions. He was a pure delegator and he'd forgotten how to do real work.
Pure delegators are slowly becoming irrelevant to their organizations.
From the Book Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager, Apress, 2007, page 13, ISBN 159059844X
Copyright © 2007 by Michael Lopp
No. 146