Letting Go: Learning to Delegate
I never trust articles or social media posts that begin with the phrase “The Secret To”. They can range from the generic (“The Secret to What Makes a Company Successful”) to the oddly specific (“19 Secrets to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur”). As if we’re only one click away from this exclusive information that will solve our problems and change our lives. But most often, the content we find behind these clickbait headlines (typically in listicle form) isn’t radical and doesn’t offer shortcuts that will allow us to bypass the time and effort it takes to achieve a goal. These “secrets” are usually things we knew all along. But knowing what to do and making those actions a reality is a different story. There are many examples of this when it comes to what makes a company successful. And if I were to create my own listicle, learning to delegate would be at the top of it. But for some, that’s easier said than done.
If we want to grow as a company, our managers need to be able to delegate. Otherwise, the result is burned-out leaders who are too bogged down with day-to-day operations to focus on the big picture. And this ultimately holds everyone back. But why is it so hard for some of us to accept this and let go of those routine or repetitive tasks? I think there are a few reasons.
For starters, it can be tempting to hold on to things that we enjoy doing. Sometimes, completing those day-to-day tasks feels satisfying, especially if your day is filled with making difficult decisions or facing problems that may not have an immediate resolution. In cases like these, working on a simple, straightforward project with a clear outcome can feel almost therapeutic, while simultaneously allowing us to avoid other, possibly more stressful obligations.
Another barrier to delegating is the flawed mentality that it’s faster to do it yourself than train your team. While this may be true in the moment, what about tomorrow, and the next day? I think we all know that this isn’t actually a more efficient long-term approach, and it may be symptomatic of something even worse: being a micro-manager. (Yes, I said it.) At the outset, picking up the hose to water some plants and thinking “I’ll just take care of this myself” may seem innocent enough, but it’s worth questioning our true motives in moments like those. Are we doing it to save time, or are decisions like these borne out of a lack of confidence in our team, whether conscious or subconscious? We should, instead, embrace these types of situations as teaching opportunities with the understanding that investing the time in our team now will pay off exponentially down the road.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with getting out and taking joy in working on a project you love from time to time. After all, most of us wouldn’t be here if we didn’t like getting our hands dirty. But it’s only by relinquishing control of some of these responsibilities and empowering our employees that we can all reach our full potential. If we’re motivated by a sense of perfectionism or fear of losing control, we’re denying our team the opportunity to grow, make mistakes, and develop professionally. But when we hand over the reins of that task to someone new, we’re opening up ourselves and our company to a new approach, new ideas, and a different way of thinking. In the long run, this will always make us stronger.
