|
Delegation: The What
Issue #426, July 1, 2026
Of the many things I’m doing, what should I delegate? Effective leaders learn which responsibilities they need to strategically move from their plate to others on their team. Again, we can learn important lessons by observing the actions of the apostles in the early church.
1In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:1-4, NIV).
The passage indicates that the apostles delegated the task of distributing food. What can we learn about why they decided to delegate this work instead of something else?
Delegate tasks that are not priorities.
The apostles said they would delegate the work of food distribution so they would not “neglect the ministry of the word.” Both tasks were good, but they recognized that if they continued doing both, the ‘ministry of the word’ would suffer. Others, at this point, could do the food distribution, but they were the only ones who could faithfully carry out the ministry of the word. And it was the ministry of the word that brought the greatest impact for the church. Every leader benefits from identifying what tasks bring the greatest return.
Some leaders delegate items they don’t enjoy doing so that others will do them. But serving leaders delegate tasks that are not priorities so they can focus on things which bring the greatest impact to their organization.
Delegate tasks that are not strengths.
The scripture passage doesn’t say what each apostle’s strengths were, but in a group of 12 they surely were not all gifted in the administration required for providing food to the widows. The result was that the job was not done well, and the complaints revealed the need for a change. The apostles found persons who were better suited for this work and delegated it to them. Like many leaders, when the work began, they needed to do it all themselves, but as the work grew, they needed to identify the strengths of others and focus on the things they did best—in this case, teaching the word.
Some leaders hesitate to delegate to others things they don’t do well assuming that others will also do it poorly or not enjoy it. But serving leaders humbly acknowledge that they are not gifted in every area and that God has designed others to do well in these areas. They identify those strengths and delegate tasks that fit the giftings on their team.
Delegate tasks that strengthen the team.
The seven leaders who were chosen had undeveloped potential that was not being used to the benefit of the church. They were ready and willing to do more, they just needed to be empowered by the leaders! This is true in many churches, businesses and non-profits.
Some leaders look for tasks that need to be done and find people to do them. But serving leaders look for people to develop and delegate tasks that will grow them.
For further reflection and discussion:
- In the past, how have I decided what to delegate? How well did it work? What can I learn from the early church leaders about how they chose what should be delegated?
- What tasks are highest priority for my leadership? (List at least 10 tasks that you do regularly and reflect on which ones bring the greatest return to your organization. Rank them in order of what impact they bring the organization. The ones on the bottom of your list are key items to delegate.)
- What tasks am I currently doing that someone else on my team could do better than I can? For each task, identify the person(s) who would do that task well.
- Reflect on two or three key members of my team. For each one, identify a task that would take them to the next level of growth and development. Develop a plan to delegate that task to them as soon as it is practical.
Until next time, yours on the journey,
Jon Byler
In the next issue, we’ll look at how we decide to whom we delegate tasks. |
