5 Successful Delegation Practices From Tony, The Fly Fishing Guide

I’ve been thinking a lot about delegation lately. This past weekend I had the opportunity to see effective delegation in action when my family and I went on a fly-fishing trip. “Tony” was an incredible guide who demonstrated to me that whether you are teaching someone how to fly fish or trying to help them understand a complex task in your organization, there are 5 key elements to remember.

The 1st is to focus on the outcome, not the process. I expected that we would have to spend a lot of time learning about the weights of the fly rods, or how many yards of fly line we’d need, or that we’d have to learn a lot about tying a fly and other background pieces. To be honest, I wasn’t really excited about that.

To my surprise, Tony pulled up, took our paperwork, got us in our waders and said, “Okay, let’s get to the river!” In other words, Tony was focusing on getting us to the outcome of what we wanted, which was to fly fish and catch some fish instead of weighing us down with so much of the process that we did not need in that moment.

The 2nd step is to create opportunities for quick successes. Tony did not take us to some wide river where we’d get frustrated casting our line. Instead, he took us to small areas where it was easy to practice the basic back cast or the roll cast, so that we could focus on getting the fly in the water and get closer to actually catching a fish.

The 3rd step that Tony used was being proactive in his communication. He would tell us what he wanted us to do and what he wanted us to work on when we were in that spot. Then he would tell us he was going to go and get other people set up and that if we had a problem, to yell to him and let him know. Otherwise, he would be back in a few minutes to check on us.

Tony controlled the communication. I didn’t feel like I was all alone and I didn’t feel like someone was breathing down my neck. Tony had the right amount of communication to give me confidence in what I was doing.

The 4th thing I noticed Tony doing was to ask questions that would help Tony help me. When he would come and check on me he would ask, “What’s difficult? What are you noticing about the fish when they see the fly? What are you noticing about where they fly is going when you cast it?” It was questions that helped him figure out where I was having success and where I needed extra help. It wasn’t simply, “Are you good?” It was much more effective in asking those questions.

The final (5th) thing Tony did that is so important in delegation? He believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I’ll be honest. I never caught a fish. Not one. 

But I can tell you this, Tony was so positive and so effective in working with me, that I can’t wait to go fly fishing again! And one day I’ll catch a fish because of the way that Tony worked with me. 🐟