Delegating is the Secret to Leadership Success

It can be hard for a leader to give the tasks they’ve always done to others and trust they’ll do them well, but leaders can’t get far if they don’t learn to delegate. When leaders do too much themselves, they risk burning out and leaving high-level tasks undone. Successful leaders teach their team members to do more and then trust them to handle things well. Then they use the time they free up to further develop those employees, strategize and work on other high-level tasks only they can handle.Delegating works best with employees that have an understanding of the company’s goals and the team’s and there’s effective communication to make sure everyone is on the same page. Read on to find out how delegating can help you become a better leader and help you get more done.Learning How to Delegate: A Guide to Letting Others Make Decisions. Fast Company: “Here’s my tale of how I broke into the delegation mind-set. In 2001, CD Baby was three years old. I had eight employees, but I was still doing "everything else" myself, working 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Everything still went through me. Every five minutes, my employees had a question for me...It was hard to get anything done while answering questions all day. I felt like I might as well show up to work and sit on a chair in the hallway, just answering employees’ questions full-time. I hit my breaking point. I stopped going to the office and shut off my phone. Then I realized I was running from my problems instead of solving them. I had to fix this, or I’d be ruined. After a long night of thinking and writing, I got myself into the delegation mind-set. I had to make myself unnecessary to the running of my company.”4 Ways to Delegate Up When You’re at the Bottom (No, Really). The Muse: “Delegate to a Better System. You should welcome the uber-task with open arms, but with a secret plan in mind—to take it, streamline it, and hand it back. This is your opportunity to show your manager what you can do. By taking a job that everyone hates and making it manageable (even enjoyable), then you’re doing the team a massive favor. And once it’s a quick and easy job, you won’t have such a battle on your hands when you want to delegate it to a colleague. Delegating is hard. Delegating up is harder. But if you can put a positive spin on why you want to delegate, appeal to the strengths of your colleagues, and make it clear that you’re all about the greater good, then it should just be that much easier to get away with.”7 Keys to Effective Delegation. EOS Worldwide: “A strong vision component means everyone in your company is 100% on the same page with where you’re going and how you plan to get there. Each team member knows and understands who the company is, what you do, why you do it, and what’s most important—this year and this quarter. That clarity makes it easier for everyone else to grab a ball and run with it when you need to delegate...When your Process component is strong, you’ll have documented, simplified and approved the handful of truly Core Processes in your organization—your ‘secret sauce.’ You will know that everyone who touches even a step in those processes has been trained. You will see that actions and results are being measured throughout the organization.” How to Show Leaders They Need to Delegate. Seapoint Center: “Delegating requires risk and courage – so have compassion for those who are hesitant to delegate. There’s no point in pushing them before they’re ready...In order to delegate, you need to be willing to let go of control. It’s likely that things will not be done exactly the way you had in mind. And it’s possible the project will fail, which can be extremely difficult when you care deeply about the outcome. Yes, there is great risk in delegating. But there is also the opportunity for great learning and great reward.”Finding Your Strengths and Delegating the Rest. Best Kept Self: “You don’t have to do it all. Give yourself some slack! You’re a human with a lot of responsibilities. Asking for help or guidance is a sign of strength. It means you’re open to making your life better.Dissect your to-do list. On the left, write all of the things that you enjoy doing and are good at. On the right, write all the things that you keep pushing off or are hard for you to do. The things on the right are the items to consider delegating or getting help with. Find your repeat offenders. Look at your daily tasks. What items do you struggle to accomplish? Is there someone in your office or at home that has a passion for that skill? You could make someone’s day by giving them a task they love!”Need help learning to delegate or helping your company’s leaders develop delegation skills? Contact us.Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.