Not Familiar With the Scandinavian Model of Leadership? Then You Are Truly Missing Out

The importance of delegating is often undervalued as a requisite of a great leader, don’t make this mistake.

Devolving responsibility and accountability stimulates collaboration, innovation and creativity. And that is part of what the Scandinavian Model of Leadership is all about (but we’ll get to that in just a moment).

Leadership qualities such as courage, resilience and confidence are much admired as tools for steering a company in the right direction. Less often praised is the importance of delegation, it is a quieter quality.

Delegation is a powerful tool and handled wisely it will lead a straighter path to success. A leader who maintains total control and authority is not a true leader- by definition a leader guides or inspires others, providing the knowledge and methods for people to take action. Attention to detail has its place – but overdo it and you will impede progress.

Delegating isn’t always easy. In the short term delegating a task might seem like an unworthy effort, but in the long term delegating will give you more time, motivate those around you (boosting productivity) and consequently make you a more effective leader. “If you really want to grow as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to learn to delegate” (Richard Branson).

Here are 3 reasons why a great leader delegates:

It frees up valuable time

In an age where time is in short supply, it is as important as ever to be able to delegate, it will give you the time you need to focus on the truly important aspects of your project or business. Prevent burn out.

It will empower and motivate those around you

Trust those around you and in return they will trust and follow you. Employees who feel valued are involved and engaged in their work and will contribute more. The managerial mentality ‘if you want something done, you must do it yourself’ will provide employees with little responsibility and consequently reduce job motivation.

It will develop your team

Providing challenging assignments for your team will develop their skill sets and enable them to move on to the next level. Delegating can be used as a source of creativity as it gives space for new approaches from different mindsets, providing the opportunity for employees to become more engaged as they are given the chance to learn. Don’t micro-manage!

What We Can Learn From the Scandinavian Model of Leadership

The Scandinavian model of leadership prides itself on a high degree of devolved responsibility and accountability which in turn creates an empowering and enabling environment.

This ‘flat’ management model from Scandinavia means their leaders focus on building management out, not up. It is no surprise then that the Global Competitiveness Report from the World Economic Forum names Sweden, Denmark and Finland as the three highest ranking countries on ‘willingness to delegate responsibility’.

In the post-industrial knowledge economy delegating is particularly important because success relies on collaboration across the company. Jan Carlzon, ex-CEO of Scandinavian Airlines and famous proponent of the ‘Scandinavian Model of leadership’, explains his success at the company as a product of his efforts to change the approach to a flatter decentralized organization.

If you really want to be business-oriented and customer- driven you must be brave enough to give responsibility to every individual person out there in the front line, as Jan Carlzon explains in his book Moments of Truth: New Strategies for Today’s Customer- Driven Economy (1987).

Essentially you should be a strategic leader – give away information and create an environment where people are prepared to take risks and responsibility.

Jan Carlzon explains how a strategic leader will say, “This is my vision and this is my strategy; this is the avenue that we all have to walk down. On that avenue, you have all the freedom to take your own solutions, but we all go the same way. And, if there is somebody in this organization who does not accept and who does not want to go the same way, then you have to leave.”

A great leader supports and develops their team by building their confidence and abilities through supportive delegation. Most successful leaders understand their staff and motivate them through trust and personal development – delegating is an effective tool for achieving this.

When used correctly delegation can be of major benefit to a company and is a tool that should be utilized and acted upon in order for leaders to gain the best results from their businesses and employees.