Leading Change: Practice: Empowerment and Delegation

Leaders will always make mistakes at some point. Focusing especially on the question of empowerment and delegation, Skim over the examples below. Next, consider your own experiences in leadership or team settings. Can you identify instances where you or someone else made similar mistakes? What did you learn from them? Submit your findings and reflections below.

Example	Scenario	What Went Wrong	Consequences
The Overwhelmed Pastor	Pastor Sarah has been leading a mid-sized church for five years. As the church grows, she continues to take on multiple roles—preaching, administration, counseling, and community outreach. Despite having a team of capable volunteers and associate pastors, she finds it difficult to delegate.	Failure to Empower: Pastor Sarah is stretched thin because she does not empower her team to take on roles that they are fully capable of. Failure to Delegate: Important tasks like administration and counseling suffer because Sarah cannot dedicate the time they need.	Burnout for the leader. Reduced efficiency in church operations. Volunteers and associate pastors feel undervalued and disengaged.
The Committee Chaos	A church decides to organize a community outreach program. They form a committee but fail to define roles clearly. Everyone is empowered to make decisions, with no clear boundaries or accountability.	Misdelegation: Too much authority was given without clear boundaries. Lack of Accountability: No single person was responsible for overseeing the project.	The event is disorganized, leading to a poor experience for the community. Members feel frustrated and demotivated due to the chaos.
The Youth Leader's Misstep	Mike, the youth leader, is excited about a new mentorship program. He delegates tasks to his team but fails to provide them with the resources and training they need to execute their roles effectively.	Misdelegation: Mike delegated tasks but did not equip his team adequately. Lack of Empowerment: The team was not given the tools or training to succeed.	The mentorship program does not meet its objectives. Team members feel demotivated and set up to fail.
The Trustee Dilemma	The church trustees are responsible for financial oversight. One of the trustees, Jane, is given the sole authority to manage a significant church renovation fund without a clear accountability structure.	Misdelegation: Too much financial responsibility was concentrated in one individual. Lack of Accountability: There were no checks and balances in place to ensure responsible management of funds.	Financial discrepancies are discovered, leading to a loss of trust among congregation members. The renovation project is delayed, and the church's reputation suffers.