A Common Leadership Mistake You Could Be Making
This mistake causes a lot of stress for leaders and their teams.
If you are a leader who is overwhelmed, it is very possible you have too much on your plate. You are working long hours, holding a majority of the responsibility on your shoulders, which makes you feel like it’s difficult to come up for air.
It is possible you have too much work, but more likely, it means you need to learn how to delegate.
The fear of delegating is a common occurrence, and a common way women leaders hold themselves back from career advancement and career fulfillment. This fear is rooted in a few commonly held beliefs that are hurting you and your team.
Need to Control
Leaders are responsible for the output of their teams which means when you delegate a task or project, you are still accountable for the final deliverable. For perfectionists or people who like to be “in control”, giving work away can make you feel vulnerable to mistakes being made by someone else and reflecting poorly on you.
Need to be indispensable
There is a sense of security that comes when you feel like your contribution is needed to keep everything going. You may subconsciously believe that if your team performs well without your involved oversight, somehow your contribution will be overlooked. Needing to be needed may feel good in the short term, but is not going to set you or your team members up for growth.
Lack of Trust
If you do not believe your team members are capable or committed to executing the quality of work that you expect from yourself, you are having trust issues which could be impacting your ability to delegate. This is the quickest way to kill the culture and confidence of your team.
The Solution: Paint It Done
We follow Brene Brown’s model of communicating expectations. She encourages leaders to answer the question: “What does ‘done’ look like?”
This means not just assigning a task, but explaining the reason, and clarifying how the end product will be used. She suggests sharing the reason for a task and the intentions in order to facilitate the contributions of others on your team.
Developing your delegation skills will make you a better leader. Becoming a master at this skill depends on your ability to improve your communication so that you can clearly articulate what outcomes you are looking for.
Your team members will thank you for it.
