One skill that is critical for leaders to master is delegation. This is also something that a lot of leaders struggle with (myself included). The good thing is just like any other leadership skill it can be developed. 

Why it is so important?

The main reason is that it allows you to focus on what matters most as a leader. It gives you time to do your Needle Moving Activities (things that drive your business forward) and big-picture thinking and planning. It also prevents you from being overwhelmed and burning out. Lastly, it gives other people opportunities to learn new skills and take on different responsibilities. 

Why people don't do that? 

• They feel bad or uncomfortable asking someone to do something or putting something else on someone's plate.

• They feel like they can just do it themselves.

• They may feel threatened or don't want to give up control.

How to delegate:

Step 1: Know what to delegate. As a leader, you want to be spending most of your time in your Zone of Genius. These are the things that you do best and what lights you up. Some questions to think about when deciding what to delegate:
-Is it necessary for me to do this task?
-Is this a task that someone else can do or learn to do?
-Can this help someone grow and develop their skills?
-Is this a task that will need to be repeated in the future?

Step 2: Know who to delegate to. For this, it is critical to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your team members. Whose strengths are in alignment with the skills needed for this task? What is the current workload of the person that you are considering delegating to? With delegation, you want to be fair in spreading out the workload and at the same time giving it to someone who can perform the job well.

Step 3: Thorough communication. It is essential that you explain to the person what the job is, how it should be done, and the desired outcome. You may also want to explain to them why it needs to be done. Next, you want to let them know when it needs to be done. Lastly, let them know where to go with any questions that may arise.

Step 4: Follow up. When you delegate to someone you want to make sure that you check in with the person to see how they are progressing. Ask them how they are doing with the task and if they have any questions. This is different then micromanaging. Micromanaging is watching over their shoulder and telling them what to do at each step. This is checking in to show them that you care about them and the results of the project.

Step 5: Give feedback and appreciation. Throughout the process and after it is finished provide them constructive feedback on what you are seeing. Also, let them know that you appreciate their efforts and give them credit for doing the job well. When possible give this credit in public such as during a staff meeting. Appreciation goes a long way with motivation and high-quality work.

One thing you can do today is to take inventory of how well you are currently delegating. Then see if there is anything that could be beneficial for you to delegate. Practice going through the fives steps and developing your technique with them. Pay particular attention to how you are communicating with it!