Delegation Done Wrong

In the past 7 years I have seen countless cases on delegation done wrong - to be more exact, delegation done in the wrong context. What do I mean by context? Have a look at the following diagram (the Situational Leadership II Model is developed by the Ken Blanchard Companies):

Allow me to briefly explain what this model is about. Let me start with the D's on the bottom. D stands for development - it's the levels of confidence and competence of the learner. I'm blanking out of the exact names of each level since it has been a while since I last read the book, but here are the nuances:

• D1 = "Bring it on!" Competence is low (the enthusiastic learner hasn't gained experience yet) but confidence is high (the enthusiastic learner is eager to learn).
• D2 = "I suck at this..." Competence is getting a bit higher but confidence is low at this stage, because this is when the learner makes mistakes (and learns from them).
• D3 = "I think I got a hang of this...?" Competence is actually high at this point but confidence is still low. The learner is gaining experience but still needs moral support.
• D4 = "I got this." This is the point where mastery is reached - both competence and confidence levels are high.

This is what I call the context - it's what the people who are being managed/led are experiencing. ​​At this point you may have already sensed what I mean by "delegation done in the wrong context," but allow me to walk you through the four context-appropriate leadership styles. The S's stand for style.

• S1 = Directing. The manager/leader teaches the learner. At this stage, the interaction is hands-on because the learner needs a lot of guidance.
• S2 = Coaching. Since this is the point where the learner feels like he/she sucks, this is where the leader supports the learner - offering guidance and also making sure that the learner's confidence doesn't whither away.
• S3 = Supporting. At this point, the leader steps down from actually leading and takes a support role, as the learner can pretty much do the task on his/her own but needs that moral support to feel comfortable. Personally, I think this stage is the most difficult to do as a leader because it involves stepping back.
• S4 = Delegating. The learner is self-reliant, and the leader rarely intervenes.

​In the encounters with managers and leaders I had so far (disclaimer: my sample size is not that big, so what I am observing may be a statistical fluke), I have rarely seen people do S2 (Coaching) or S3 (Supporting). I've seen many behave in the extremes - S1 (Directing) or S4 (Delegating) - or even worse...

"S-Zero" and "S-WHAT?"

1. I call it "S-ZERO" or "controlling", the behavior that some unfortunate leaders exert when the learner goes from D1 to D2. When the learner doesn't get something right (because they're still learning and are in D2), the manager/leader thinks "Oh, I knew I should've done this myself," and either micromanages the learner or even takes the task away from the learner, and thus preventing further development.
2. I call the other extreme "S-WHAT?" or "pushing work onto others with minimal (or no) requirements," i.e. delegation done wrong. This behavior takes place when the leader doesn't take into consideration that the learner is not in D4. When the learner is in D1 or D2 and does it the wrong way, it is usually followed by hysteria and regression to S-ZERO.​

To me, these look like symptoms of a lack of theory of mind - either because the leader is completely clueless about what the learners are experiencing, or because the leader is not putting in the time and effort to think about what the learners are experiencing for some reason.

So I part with these questions (that I don't have the answers to... I'm still learning. I need your intel.):

• Why would a leader lack a theory of mind? How do they become leaders?
• If the leader actually has a theory of mind but doesn't have time (or doesn't make time) to apply it for his/her reports, why is that? How can the leader make time?
• If the leader actually had theory of mind and knew what the learners were experiencing... what motivates the leader to do S-ZERO and S-WHAT?