c) When should you intervene?

When you delegate authority, you may need to provide assistance to staff who are involved as they carry out the task. They may discover that they need better skills in meeting facilitation, in gathering feedback, in finding acceptable research documents, in understanding district or school policies which may apply. They may simply run into difficult people or difficult situations that could shut down their work. They could get bogged down in unimportant details or get sidetracked from the original focus and need to be redirected.

Because these are adult professionals who have volunteered to take on a task, you should expect that they will solve most of their own problems without your intervention. On the other hand, teachers generally do not thrive in conflict situations with their colleagues or political maelstroms in the school or community. Their principal is the specialist in these areas!

So how do you know when you should intervene?

The general rule is to observe from a distance, to show interest but not intrude, to be available but not take on the problems of the group or individual. If the group has a written charge and you have set up regular progress reporting times, you may find that a group or an individual will surface a problem that has come up during one of the reporting times. In discussing the problem, the group may come up with a solution. Before intervening in any delegated activity, ask if the group wants you to intervene and ask how they think you might help.

Bottom line, expect that in most instances, the group will resolve their own issues and will be able to tell you specifically what help they might need and why. Intervene as little as possible and by invitation only.