In a previous post, I talked about owning your weaknesses. I believe owning them allows you to better overcome or work around them, and ultimately to become more impactful.
One of the strategies for not letting your weaknesses hold you back is to find others who are strong in your area of weakness. Once you do this, you can tap into them, and have better odds of achieving your goals. But only if you are willing to delegate. When you delegate, you can also do something equally important: you can help others achieve their goals.
This is a strategy of the best leaders: to develop those around them. It’s a no-brainer, right? Okay, then why don’t more people do it? How many leaders do you know that are 100% about achieving the results of today, so focused on the now, they don’t prepare their people for the future? Then they wonder why they have no candidates ready for succession, why their most ambitious and eager talent leave.
People are motivated when they can use their gifts, and when they can grow. If you try to do it all, what are you leaving for others? If you try to do it all, at the end of the day, you will severely limit your impact. But if you bring others into the work, give them assignments (and don’t take them back), allow them to make decisions, and provide feedback and encouragement — now you can begin to have exponential impact, both today and tomorrow.
Delegation is often one of the toughest challenges of new leaders but sometimes experienced leaders too. First, you must make the mental shift to recognizing that when you delegate you are creating opportunity. Second, you must practice the behaviors of delegation until they are comfortable for you. There are many books and online resources available to help you learn the behaviors of delegation. One easy and practical guide is Delegation & Supervision by Brian Tracy, but I trust you to seek out and find the resource that’s right for you. (See how I did that?)
Happy delegating!
the career muse 