The Great Delegator (or the great dictator?)

Whenever I run a session on Delegation, there are great discussions that take place. Lots of questions, points of view and many concerns! One thing is for sure - this topic always generates a lot of interest and this to me is very encouraging because it tells me that today's Managers want to delegate and delegate effectively - only they would like to know how to go about delegating.
Firstly, many of them have been victims of poor delegation and hence either repeat the mistakes or completely avoid delegating assuming that to be the right thing to do!
Effective delegation starts with operating in the right paradigm - the key building block is about realising that delegating is not about getting the job done (although this is a by product)but all about growing the person through the opportunity of delegation! If the short term focus is only about getting the job done, we've missed the bus completely!Great Managers see delegation as a golden opportunity to grow their people and built into this opportunity is the mentoring that comes with it.
I was fortunate to have a boss early in life who was a great delegator with an eye for handpicking assignments and delegating them to specific people who needed to grow in their capabilities. I also noticed the way he used to team people up to complement each other's strengths!
Contrast this to a poor delegator who's only intent is to show how indispensable he is!Barks instructions, catches people making mistakes,snoops around all the time, picks the wrong person for the wrong job and finally exposes people so that he/she can parade their greatness in taking over and getting the job done!
A successful delegator is also one who is secure with himself/herself - an insecure Manager clings to their jobs and their specialisation. What happens if a subordinate learns to do a job better than them? Will they still be around? These fears cripple their delegation style and this is the "Bonsai Manager" Mr Gopalakrishnan talks about who creates bonsai employees and the organization remains stunted in every way!
The great delegator works on a simple set of principles - he/she must make themselves redundant in their current roles, their only job is to nurture talent and when they are no longer required they move on to a new team, a new challenge which needs their thoughtful attention! The poor delegator counts the seeds inside an apple, the great Delegator sees an apple orchard in every seed!
Delegation is the No 1 tool in the Manager's Tool Kit!