Delegation: An Essential Leadership Skill

Too often, people see delegation as simply giving your work to someone else. The truth though, is that delegation is a key leadership skill. As your role evolves, your focus must evolve too. If you are moving from being a high performing ‘doer’ to becoming an impactful ‘leader’, then your job is no longer to do everything, but to enable the team to do its best work. 

Why can delegation feel difficult?

The first step is to think about what might be stopping you from delegating tasks to your team? What are the fears and concerns that are holding you back? Reflecting on the ‘why’ is the key to unlocking your capacity as a leader. Do some of these reasons ring true?

• Thinking it will be quicker if you do it yourself. 
• Worrying that it won’t meet your standards or that the low-standard work will reflect poorly on you.
• Believing that no one can do the task as well as you can.
• Feeling guilty for passing your work onto others.
• Not having people available with the necessary skills.

Why you should delegate

Delegation is a strategic move, immediately freeing up your time for critical, high-level activities. It’s not only a great way to give you some time back, it’s a powerful developmental tool. Entrusting a task significantly fuels a team member’s motivation, engagement and confidence. This approach successfully builds a more capable and high-performing team.

Are you delegating the right things?

The second step is to ask yourself if you are delegating the right things. There’s a powerful tool called the Eisenhower Matrix (also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix or the Four Ds) which helps you decide which tasks deserve your focus, and which should be delegated.

This matrix divides your tasks into four quadrants, shown here:

The matrix clearly shows that it’s the Urgent but Not Important tasks that are the ones you should be delegating. 

Delegation checklist

With the why and what established, let’s turn our attention to the essential ‘how’ – the practical steps for effective delegation.

To effectively transition from ‘doer’ to ‘leader’, use this checklist:

• Clarity: Do I clearly articulate the expected outcome, rather than just listing the steps?
• Authority: Do I provide the necessary resources and authority to the person receiving the task?
• Acceptance: Do I accept that the task may be done differently than I would have done it, as long as the desired outcome is achieved?
• Development: Do I see this as a genuine opportunity for someone to learn and grow?
• Support: Do I budget extra time for coaching, learning and rework?
• Follow-up: Do I offer constructive feedback and schedule check-ins, rather than resorting to micromanaging?

Your delegation challenge

It’s time for action and to reclaim a regular 4 hours a week.

1. Take all your current tasks and place them into the Eisenhower Matrix.
2. Identify three specific activities that fall into the Delegate quadrant.
3. Decide who the best person is to take ownership of each.
4. Commit to transferring ownership for one task each week for the next three weeks.

Let me know how it goes!

You know the frameworks but translating them into real-world change takes accountability and expert support. Let’s work together to redefine your work and truly scale your impact. Apply for a one-to-one Coaching Consultation today and turn those hours back into strategic freedom.