Do you frequently find yourself thinking ‘I may as well do it myself’, ‘I need to do this to make sure it’s right’, or ‘I don’t want to overload anyone in the team, and this will only take me five minutes?’
If you do, you’re not alone. Effective delegation is not something that comes naturally to most managers and, like many leadership skills, is often expected to be learned early in an individual’s career.
And there’s also the common misconception that passing off work to others is a way to enjoy long lunches, race off to the hairdressers or simply put up one’s feet on the desk. If only that was the case!
The truth about delegating is that it’s not about getting out of work but a highly effective tool that managers can use to elevate their own performance and that of their entire team.
The art of effective delegation was at the focus of our final Leading Teams Workshop for the year. It was a topic that really resonated with leaders in the room, with incredible participation and engagement.
We thought we would share some thoughts from entrepreneur, investor and speaker Jessica Jackley. Hopefully it sparks a few New Year’s resolutions to use the power of delegation to empower your team’s success for 2025!
Jessica Jackley: Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do
Effective delegation is a key leadership skill that can transform your team’s dynamics and overall productivity. Delegation is not just about handing over the tasks that you don’t want to do. Effective delegation has many benefits. Empowering team members with delegated tasks can foster an environment of trust and collaboration, leading to a more engaged and capable team. It also allows leaders to focus on the work they need to be doing at a strategic or management level.
Just like many leadership skills, delegation is a skill that is often expected to be picked up along the way. However, given conscious thought and deliberate learning, leaders, and their teams, can achieve so much more through their delegation efforts, such as knowing why and when to delegate; what to delegate; how to apply the right delegation style and what to do if delegation is not working.
Our intake for our new Lead with Focus program is happening in January 2025. If you’d like to learn practical and powerful insights and techniques to become a great leader, reach out to us to talk today.