Delegation: The Difference Between Owning and Doing

Often a manager must delegate in order to get the long list of tasks completed on a farm. From vaccinations to sorting cattle, the to-do list never seems to be lacking. Having employees take ownership and complete tasks is ultimately what managers seek in employees.

According to David Finkel, co-author of ‘Scale: Seven Proven Principles to Grow Your Business and Get Your Life Back,’ one of the most common misunderstandings when it comes to delegation is knowing the difference between asking someone to do a task versus asking someone to own a task. 

“Having someone on your team do a task is usually a one-off activity,” he says.

Asking an employee to perform a task generally means that a manager will outline the details and provide guidance and feedback throughout the process. 

The difference between owning a task involves a completely different set of guidelines. 

“This is usually something that is recurring or ongoing,” Finkel says. 

On a farm, this could be dehorning calves or coordinating vaccinations. Instead of just doing the project, an employee will own it and take the lead on the next steps involved, asking for guidance and asserting feedback on what is going well, what can be improved and communicating any issues with the manager. 

The manager would lay out all the steps that they would like the employee to do, making sure they understand the responsibilities and operating procedures moving forward. 

Finkel says that as long as the employee is following those steps that the manager outlined, the manager doesn’t need to get involved or micromanage the situation.

“The employee now owns it and I trust that it will get done in a timely matter,” he says. “It makes things a lot easier and cleaner for them moving forward as they are able to manager their time more efficiently.”

Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person to carry out specific activities. The difference between doing and owning is subtle, but owning as a task takes a lot more time and attention to get the project across the finish line.  

“But when you let another team member own the process from start to finish, both of you are able to focus on the things that are most important for your positions,” Finkel says. 

For more on leadership, read:

• 6 Tips for Being a Mentor to a Young Farmer
• Farmer Edition: The True Value of a Role Model
• 2023 Planning: How to Lead Productive Meetings for Your Farm