Delegation is art. Collaboration is fine art.

I was thinking about this recently. Delegation is something we all do. We hand off tasks, clear up space on our plate, and keep things moving. 

But collaboration, that’s on a different level where the final result feels way bigger than the sum of its parts. And that's everywhere. As a keyboardist I know this to be even more true. Its total goosebump when it happens right, be it software delivery or be it a musical performance or team rowing. 

Delegation is art. Collaboration is fine art!

In the rush of deadlines and deliverables, it’s easy to stop at delegation. It feels efficient. But the times I’ve felt the most energy at work have always been when true collaboration was happening (and the intent to collaborate is from everyone involved, especially the subordinates).

What is even more crazy is the managers that I worked for, the more collaborators they were, not just the outcomes that were amazing, that attitude led to lasting (and lifelong in some cases) relationships, even way beyond the intent of collaboration.