Hello and happy Monday.
First a Quote: “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.” – Eli Broad
A project lands on a leader’s desk. She knows exactly how to handle it. In fact, she could probably finish it faster than anyone on her team. So, she does.
Project completed, results accomplished. But what didn’t happen?
Perhaps someone else didn’t get the chance to wrestle with a new problem, make a decision, or discover what they’re capable of doing and expand their potential.
Most of us learned early in our careers that hard work and achieving results bring additional opportunities for us. We developed a reputation for getting things done. Perhaps we were promoted because we were exceptionally good at the doing part.
But as our responsibilities grow, what’s expected of us begins to change.
We are still expected to deliver results, but increasingly we achieve them by helping others succeed.
That can be a difficult mind shift when we know we can do the work ourselves, and do it well.
It may feel quicker to take care of it. We may worry that someone else’s results won’t meet our standards.
Sometimes we simply enjoy the work that brought us this far.
I understand the pull. But what happens when we hold on too long?
Each time we take on a task or decision from someone else who is ready to learn, we may be taking away more than work. We may be taking away a chance to grow, build confidence, judgment, and skill.
We may be stealing a growth opportunity! When we do something that someone else can do, or should do, we’re robbing a growth opportunity from someone who might be ready.
Of course, delegation doesn’t mean handing off an assignment and hoping for the best. Safety and other critical responsibilities may require close oversight on our part.
We can “Chalk the Field” making the goal and boundaries clear… where someone is free to make decisions, and where the boundaries of their authority end. Then we need to give them room to work within those boundaries. Click here to read: Where Are the Edges?
As our responsibilities increase, we need time to think strategically, develop people, improve how the team works, and prepare for what comes next. It’s difficult to work on the business when we keep pulling ourselves back into every part of it.
The work that brought us here may be the work we now need to help someone else learn to do.
In closing, let me ask: What are you still doing because you’re good at it, when someone else needs the chance to learn and grow?
How will you live, love, or lead differently or better this week?
Sincerely,
Bryan Yager
Expanding Your Capacity for Success
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Bonus Quotes:
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“We accomplish all that we do through delegation - either to time or to other people.” – Stephen Covey
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“Delegation requires the willingness to pay for short-term failures in order to gain long term competency.” – Dave Ramsey
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“The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
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“As much as you need a strong personality to build a business from scratch, you also must understand the art of delegation. I have to be good at helping people run the individual businesses, and I have to be willing to step back. The company must be set up so it can continue without me.” – Richard Branson
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“Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don’t interfere as long as the policy you’ve decided upon is being carried out.” – Ronald Reagan
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“Being able to do everything in the business, doesn’t necessarily mean you should do everything.” – K Callan
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“The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.” – Eli Broad
