How do I Know if I Need to Delegate More?
Five signs it's time to let go
As leaders, our work extends far beyond the team we lead. The scope of our responsibility expands exponentially. Rather than manage the work or use our functional expertise, we have to work at the organizational layer. This means we have to give things away. In other words, we have to delegate.
What happens when we don’t delegate?
We become a blocker as the team sits idle
Deadlines loom and pass
The team becomes dis-empowered
People stop growing
We become more overwhelmed and less effective
Read that last one again. When we don’t delegate we become less effective.
No one wants this. No one means to hoard tasks like a squirrel storing nuts for winter. Despite this, we might find ourselves knee-deep in work and overwhelmed. Why? We may not have recognized the signs.
Here’s what leaders who need to delegate have told me.
“That project is such a mess. I don't want to impose it on others.”
“I want to know how to do it before I give it away.”
“I can do it faster, I’ll just do it this one time.”
“I’m not sure my team is ready for this, I’d better keep it.”
“I can’t give it away, I have to stay involved to know what’s going on.”
What can we do? How can we begin to shift our behavior? We must recognize that these are not truths or reality but perspectives. To give away more, we need a mindset shift.
Here are a few suggestions to consider.
“That project is such a mess. I don't want to impose it on others.”
We see it as an imposition, others might see it as a growth opportunity. This allows others to develop what Daniel Pink refers to as mastery or “The desire to get better and better at something that matters.” Mastery keeps people engaged and happy. The power of giving challenging tasks can’t be underestimated.
“I can’t give it away, I have to stay involved to know what’s going on.”
Leadership pulls us away from the work, adding a layer of abstraction. This is part of the deal. Rather than fight it, focus on building strong relationships and creating robust feedback loops. This will help us get the right level of detail to guide the team and filter information across the organization. This means we’ll frustrate the team less and avoid becoming known as a dreaded micromanager.
“I can do it faster, I’ll just do it this one time.”
Doing it ourselves rather than teaching others is short-term thinking. This keeps us and our team stuck. Taking time to build capacity in others by teaching them new skills pays off in long-term scalability. Leadership isn’t an individual endeavor, it’s a shared experience. We go faster and accomplish more when we move together.
When we find ourselves overwhelmed, sharing the work is always a good place to look. Be sure to check for a stuck mindset.
There isn’t a podcast episode this week but there will be one next week so stay tuned! In the meanwhile, you want to listen to Michelle O’Connor’s episode about how she scaled herself by letting go.
It was hard for me to slow down to be able to speed up. I still remind myself to slow down to speed up.
You can listen to Michelle’s episode here.
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