The Balance Between Taking Ownership & Delegating

Earlier this year, I wrote about the dichotomies of leadership and how nearly every situation presents a contradictory set of circumstances that we must learn to navigate.

Managing the dichotomies and recognizing that we can hold contradictions in tension will allow us to operate more effectively within inherent complexities.

Considering the mix of character and competence, it’s about operating in the AND, not the OR—in the space between the extremes.

An effective leader must, among other things:

• be ready to lead AND ready to follow
• be decisive AND ensure the team feels heard
• build a strong culture AND an effective business
• have the desire to win AND the ability to respond to failure
• be confident AND humble

Building awareness that these dichotomies exist is the first step to preventing the pendulum from swinging from one extreme to another.

We tend to overcorrect when we realize we’ve made a mistake, whether from external feedback or internal reflection.

One of the most prevalent situations where this is true is between taking ownership and delegating—two seemingly opposing forces that must be considered simultaneously.

New leaders especially struggle with this when transitioning from a very hands-on individual contributor role into a management role.

Even then, experienced leaders find themselves in positions where it’s challenging to navigate the blurred line between taking full responsibility and empowering the team to learn and grow by doing the work.

We must remind ourselves that we’re not only responsible for the results and outcomes of the team but also for developing more leaders.

Building Trust By Taking Ownership

Ownership within a leadership role is more than taking responsibility for outcomes; it’s about accountability for every action and decision our team makes.

While we are not directly responsible for the action, we are responsible for ensuring everyone on our team knows the plan and has clear expectations for executing it. When mistakes are made, we must figure out where we could have better communicated or directed to address the issue proactively.

This level of commitment shows the team that they’ll never be left out to dry when missteps occur. It demonstrates that, as leaders, we are willing to exercise accountability at all levels and devise a collective strategy to address them, building trust and integrity.

It’s about ownership of the big picture—not the in-the-weeds details. That’s where the fine line exists, and we must carefully remind ourselves of the difference between oversight and task-level responsibilities.

When things go wrong, be curious, ask questions, seek to understand, and then take ownership of how things could have been done differently at a strategic level, starting from the top. Lead by example so that it encourages others to do the same.

Empowering Through Delegation

While ownership establishes a foundation of trust, delegation cultivates a culture of empowerment. We take ownership of oversight but entrust the team with responsibility and decision-making ability to ensure it cascades through the organization.

Delegation is not about “getting things off our plate.” It’s about developing our team's capabilities—time freed up to focus on more strategic responsibilities is a by-product we can leverage.

Ownership and delegation also have nothing to do with who has “control.” The art of team building requires that we distribute the workload across the team so that people who take on the responsibilities possess the unique skill sets to accomplish the tasks or share further within their team.

Being the hero and trying to take on everything accomplishes nothing except for a demotivated team that misses out on opportunities to learn and grow.

The shift from individual responsibility to a culture of collective responsibility begins when decision-making and ownership are decentralized, AND the team is aligned on the common goal and objectives.

Navigating the Dichotomy

The complexity lies in the interplay between ownership and delegation. When issues occur, it is easy to slip into a pattern of taking control of the situation. Not only does that degrade trust, but it also inhibits results by drastically slowing things down.

Our most powerful tool for navigating the dichotomy is awareness and mindfulness—detecting when the pendulum swings and how our actions contribute.

There are also prerequisites we can work through to create a flexible system we can refer back to when we need to determine the approach for how we show up in these situations with multiple courses of action:

• Set personal boundaries—self-awareness is essential here. Know your strengths and blindspots to recognize when you may be drifting to a pattern of “control” instead of actual ownership of what you’re responsible for. Document these situations for personal reference to create guiding principles for repeated situations; develop a set of adaptable guardrails.
• Understand the team and clarify roles and responsibilities—similarly, know your team’s strengths and blind spots. Having a documented set of roles and responsibilities visible across the collective team is critical for delegation. We must also factor in each team member's unique characteristics and competencies and how they all tie together.
• Identify the tasks to delegate—with awareness of individual and collective strengths, plan ahead for a given project or initiative, and discern between your responsibilities tied to your role and those that should be delegated. That way, when mistakes are made, you have an original map of the distribution of ownership, so course-correcting becomes less chaotic.
• Communicate clear expectations—holding the team accountable is impossible without clear expectations. Once delegation pathways are identified, communicate them individually and collectively and ensure understanding and comprehension. This must be communicated and reinforced repeatedly; as execution begins, the team will naturally slip in certain areas, especially if you’ve delegated a new responsibility.
• Provide resources, guidance, and support—once we've delegated, the team often needs our support to remove blockers or barriers. Ensure they are set up for success by giving them everything they need to deliver, reducing unnecessary friction by providing top cover, and removing impediments within your oversight lane. This is especially important when multiple teams collaborate and get out of sync. Be aware that it’s about coaching and guidance, not micromanaging or jumping in to do it yourself.
• Reflect, provide feedback, and adjust—mistakes will inevitably be made—reinforce that they are learning opportunities. Regularly reflect on the impacts of your delegation. Use these insights to modify your approach. Exercise self-accountability and then translate that accordingly within the team. Provide consistent and regular feedback, ensuring adjustments can be made while actively executing rather than waiting for the outcomes.

Dichotomies exist all around us. The space between ownership and delegation is especially tricky to navigate. It’s easy to unintentionally slip into a dynamic where we bounce from one extreme to another.

The key is enabling a system that creates natural checkpoints that hone our awareness of when we begin to drift and allow us the space to adjust.

Responsibility is never meant to fall on one person’s shoulders. It is not our role as leaders to carry the ship's weight but rather to distribute it accordingly so that everyone clearly understands how they can contribute to keeping the ship headed in the intended direction.

When leaders identify a sustainable approach to balance taking ownership and empowering the team, this creates a ripple effect where the team feels compelled to do the same.

Take ownership of the team and organization, AND ensure that everyone is engaged by delegating with the intent to empower.