Canadian Government Executive - Volume 25 - Issue 03

24 / Canadian Government Executive // August/September 2019 MIDDLE MANAGEMENT Thriving on delegation By John Wilkins If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate. — JOHN C. MAXWELL History is replete with heroic stories of human survival in harsh conditions. In January 1915, the ship Endurance was crushed in the ice off the coast of Antarctica. The expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton escaped in three life- boats to uninhabited Elephant Island, far from the shipping lanes. In April 2016, 22 souls watched Shackleton and five comrades set out for South Georgia, 1,300 kilometers away.