From the course: Delegation Strategies for People Leaders

Delegation starts with you

From the course: Delegation Strategies for People Leaders

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Delegation starts with you

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- Leadership is not about doing everything yourself. It's about guiding your team to work in harmony. Great leaders are master conductors, empowering everyone to perform at their highest level and in sync. This is the art of delegation, not to play every part or perform every task. As a leader, you must know what, when and to whom to delegate and all while respecting everyone's boundaries, including your own. But what exactly is delegation and what role do boundaries play in effective delegation? Now, the dictionary definition is to assign responsibility or authority, but from my experience, this doesn't quite capture the purpose, power, or intention. Delegation is actually an act that elevates leaders, empowers teams, and builds cultures of trust. It's not just about assigning responsibility. That's why it's important that you're clear around your beliefs and ideas of delegation, because your perceptions about it will shape your approach and effectiveness, particularly if you think it's just about assigning tasks. In order to delegate effectively as a leader, you must be clear about your boundaries. And boundaries are crucial for managing expectations around workload and responsibility, both for yourself and your team. Most workplace drama, conflict, confusion, and poor performance can be attributed to a lack of clarity on roles, responsibilities, and expected results. And as a leader, it's your job to create and uphold boundaries to prevent you from micromanaging and your team from burnout. Let me share an example. One of my clients struggled with boundaries and delegation. As a result, she was working 10-hour days, including weekends. Needless to say, she was overwhelmed. Not wanting to inundate her team, she became deeply entrenched in the day-to-day operations, and her team often felt frustrated and underutilized. I worked with her to first manage her thoughts and beliefs around delegating, which allowed her to start assigning key responsibilities to various members of her leadership team. Then, we worked on creating boundaries around her schedule and time. We created uninterrupted strategic blocks so she could be more effective in her work, which also allowed her team to start working more independently and to get more done. So now it's your turn. I want you to conduct a mini self-assessment in three areas. Ask yourself, how do my current beliefs about delegation shape the way I lead and empower my team? Have I clearly defined and communicated boundaries for myself and my team? And how have these impacted our effectiveness and well-being? What specific changes can I implement in my delegation approach to enhance team productivity and autonomy? Effective delegation is essential for effective leadership, but you must remember, it starts with you as the leader.

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