Let’s start with the basics.
Everyone in the organization owns responsibilities. Executives. Middle managers. Front line staff. The specific responsibilities vary, of course. And the higher you are in the organization, the more you depend on others.
Executives have high-level, usually broad, responsibilities. They often come with a lot of latitude on how to proceed. That’s all great.
But, unfortunately for them, executives rarely have the simplicity of directly delivering on their responsibilities. They almost always need to rely on others. Often many others. They delegate. And those people delegate further. Sometimes, many levels.
This presents challenges because each delegation creates … risk. Even when they delegate, the executive remains personally accountable. So if someone in their delegation chain fails to deliver, that could be a material blow to the executive.
Great executives understand their delegation chain. They know where their potential failure points lie. They step up and proactively clear the way to make things easier for the people who are supporting them.
So it’s simple. Make sure that the people who are supporting you succeed. That’s job #1 for executives. If you do that well, you’re creating a strong performance culture. And you’re more likely to deliver on your responsibilities.