Managers can stifle their business and people if they don’t delegate strategically. The quickest way to improve business is to use delegation to build your leadership and bench strength…but it must be done with thought and planning. That means to strategically delegate, not sloppily dump the work.

I coach executives and managers at all levels and delegation is the most common issue they all have. This critical business management skill seems to be a challenge for most managers. Check any of these symptoms to see if you have a need to delegate more:

1. I take work home or work late.

2. I have many unfinished jobs/projects/work.

3. I have such a workload that it is difficult to meet all my deadlines.

4. I spend more time working on the details of completing tasks, than on planning, monitoring and supervising.

5. I am interrupted by direct reports who come to me for advice, decisions or to handle problems.

6. In projects that I delegate, I find the person often makes poor decisions and I end up changing them.

If you said “Yes” to any of these, read on. I will help you learn how to “let it go” in a way that will make both you and the other person successful…and with less stress.

First it’s important to realize that you need to use some psychology on yourself and the person you’re delegating to.

Analyze Yourself

It’s hard when you take pride in your work, to pass it on to someone else.

After all, you are very capable. Many of us have Superman/woman complex, “I can do it all!” or the recording in our head, ”No one can do it as well as me.”

In a one-to-one conversation, I would help your analyze these areas in more depth, but you can begin to build a strategic delegation game plan by analyzing these factors that can set both of you and your staff up for success and advancement.

What to Delegate

What kinds of tasks/responsibilities could you delegate in order to make yourself more effective? Feel free to list as many as possible knowing that some might be easier than others to pass on. Refrain from censoring yourself with “Yes, but…” Just list them with no judgment. Then later prioritize them.

When To Let Go

1.    When you’re making that decision holds back the company

2.    When you’re working too many hours.

3.    When the person gives you hints that they want to make that decision.

4.    When the person has proven to you they know the job well

5.    When you need to create more buy-in.

6.    When the person is closer to the problem and may have better insights.

7.    When you want to build bench strength and develop your staff

8.    When you have thoroughly trained them how to do it well

Each one of these considerations require some thought and judgment. By analyzing your situation in this way, you’ll have laid the foundation for successful strategic delegation. Then it will be important to be able to answer these questions which will be covered in Part ll

§       Who is the right person to delegate to?

§       Specifically, how should you get the information/skill/knowledge from your head into theirs?

§       What’s the best way to hold them accountable?

This outlines some of the main aspects of successful strategic delegation. If you would like to ask Janelle Brittain questions about your specific situation, email your question to her at Janelle@DynamicPerformance.com

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Janelle Brittain, MBA, CSP, is CEO & President of Dynamic Performance Institute, LLC and Dynamic Solutions Group., companies that help leadership and teams of organizations grow to their highest dynamic performance.  Her most recent books are “Star Team Dynamics: 12 Lessons Learned from Experienced Team Builders” and “How to Say It: Performance Reviews, Phrases and Strategies for Painless and Productive Performance Reviews.” To learn more, visit www.DynamicPerformance.com and WWW.DynamicSolutionsGp.com . To hear concrete advice or have your business questions answered, go to Janelle’s on-line audio shows at: https://thewinonline.com/shows/dynamic-performance-business-coach-bring-...