The Key to Building a World Class Team: Learn to Delegate
I was never one to delegate — in fact, my mentality was always “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” I was that student in the group project who picked up all the slack and would do a majority of the work just to make sure it got done and we could get that A. Call it trust issues or a need to be in control. Yes, I was successful, but I also placed an incredible amount of undue stress on myself and constantly overflowed my plate.
To me, the idea of delegating meant I couldn’t handle it — like I was waiving the preverbal white flag because I wasn’t capable enough. In an effort to always prove to myself, and others, that I was smart, capable, reliable, and skilled enough to do the work, I viewed delegation as a cry for help. And my biggest fear was knowing that it probably wouldn’t be done “right” and I would just end up doing the work anyway, so why waste that valuable time?
Reflecting on this makes me seem very egotistical, but I promise you, it was the opposite. I now realize that because I never truly trusted myself, I couldn’t trust others either. Because I was always too ready to pick up the slack — and go above and beyond — no one else wanted to step up. My fear of failing kept others from proving their own potential.
Now to clarify, I have worked in startups and many small teams, so often there is no one to hand off responsibilities to. However, my definition of delegation came from a command and control leadership lens — a top down authoritarian approach. Too many times, I had bosses “delegate” tasks to me that I viewed as lazy and borderline insulting, like translating voicemails left by my boss into a written draft email for that boss to send, punctuation and all! I didn’t want to be treated like this and never wanted others to feel this way, so I veered away from opportunities to delegate.
It wasn’t until I reached a point with the non-profit I was leading at the time when I was maxed out — the workload was insane and there weren’t enough hours in the day. We hired my colleague Michael Luchies, an incredibly talented communicator and hard worker. We were passionate about the organization’s mission and both had very high standards of excellence. Michael took so much off my plate and was a partner, not my employee. I trusted and relied on Michael, and he helped me to be a better leader.
I began to view delegation as a way of trusting and empowering others, not just handing off work you don’t want to do. Give talented people the trust and space to own their responsibilities, and they will likely rise to the occasion. Since changing this perspective, I have been far more often impressed by my team members than let down. When you give someone the space to be proud of what you are asking them to do, you can go much farther than doing it alone. Delegation can be a selfless way to trust someone else to do what they can do best.
I have had the pleasure of working alongside some of the most talented individuals, my current team at Future Founders included. They bring an unmatched level of inspiration, passion, and drive to their work, and for a small non-profit, our staff is world class. It’s not just about finding the right people or surrounding yourself with smarter people, it’s about empowering them through delegation.
To grow your company, your impact, or your reach, you can’t do it alone. But as a founder, a leader, or manager, it is your responsibility to create an environment in which delegation can thrive. Being a leader is a privilege. Your priority should be to foster a safe space of mutual trust and respect for your employees to succeed.
“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” — Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook
Yes, sometimes employees are not the right fit for your company culture or the skills required. And the old adage “hire slow and fire fast” is important. However, if you are not appropriately setting boundaries, delegating, and then getting out of the way, you are not giving anyone the opportunity to excel in their role.
Delegating is much easier said than done, especially for founders, owners, and entrepreneurs who have raised their baby on their own or who have relied on limited resources and scrappiness for so long. Carrying the pressure of building a business is not easy. Just like pressure over time turns coal into diamonds, the pressure of entrepreneurship can harden your armor of leadership.
So how can you effectively delegate to build and inspire a world class team? Here are 4 rules to self-regulate as a delegator.
- No one needs a micromanager.
Micromanagement derives from excessive control over even the smallest details, and it can be incredibly demoralizing and damanging to a team. In My Way or the Highway, author Harry Chambers researched this issue; he found that 71% of respondents said micromanagement interfered with job performance, 69% considered changing jobs because of it, and 36% actually ended up changing jobs.
As a leader, you need to constantly check yourself — ask yourself if your level of management is appropriate. How often are you checking in? What are you directing? What kind of feedback are you giving? Are you a bottleneck for the project or assignment? Put yourself in the shoes of your employees, and be honest! If you would be frustrated or feel stifled by a boss giving you that level of attention, take a step back. Often, when you ease up on the control and provide more autonomy for the work to be done, you free up the physical, mental, and emotional abilities of your employees, giving them the confidence to successfully accomplish their work.
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” — George S. Patton, U.S. Army General
2. Start small to build trust.
Trust is a two-way street, but it starts with the leader. Trust has to be earned, but it also cannot be locked away — it’s not the Ark of the Covenant and employees shouldn’t need Indiana Jones to save the day. The team will be looking to you to set the tone and lead the way.
To get more comfortable delegating, start small. Begin by delegating a lower priority task or nice-to-have project. You will need to train or offer guidance, but let the team member take ownership. Set up a clear path for checking in, evaluating performance, and providing clarification along the way. Be the referee and redirect as necessary, but empower your colleague to lead the way. As you see your team members successfully completing these tasks and projects, increase your trust and allow for bigger levels of responsibility. In turn, your employees will respect you as a leader and learn how to perform to your standards.
3. Clear is kind.
Brené Brown, an American researcher, author, and speaker, insightfully said, “Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind.” This message has had one of the biggest impacts on my leadership. All too often I avoided conflict by shielding others from what was really going on or from direct and transparent feedback. At times, I was too concerned about what they might think of me as their boss or trying to protect them from the stress of a situation instead of doing what was best for them by being direct. It can be easier to let your ego get in the way of doing the hard things.
In reality, being clear is the best thing you can do for someone. It is the kind thing to do. People want honesty, and honesty is critical for trust. No one can read our mind, and most people do actually want to do a good job and succeed. Be straight-forward, open, and honest. Provide as much information up front and don’t try to hide all the details or data. Clarity and kindness go hand-in-hand to build strong relationships and create clear lines of communication with your team.
4. Put your people first.
The easiest thing a leader can do is put their people first. But this is commonly what is missing.
As an entrepreneur, we often deal with imposter syndrome, feeling that we are not good enough or we don’t know enough. This bleeds into our assumptions of how others perceive us. It’s easy to get caught up in ourselves and go down a black hole of self-doubt and fear.
But it is not about us. Entrepreneurship and leadership is a team sport. We need other people to be on our team. We need them to be successful. The sooner you can realize that your job as the leader is to enable others to do their job, to clear the runway for them to takeoff and go, the sooner success can be achieved.
“Leaders of the most remarkable companies are willing to put their people first and the work second.” — Susan Packard, Co-Founder of HGTV
Treat people how you want to be treated. Make your team your priority. Dedicate time to coaching, offering feedback, and treating them like the integral part of the team that they are. Recognize their value and contributions. Give credit where credit is due. Be transparent and communicate. Listen. Believe in your people — they believe in you, and that’s why they are choosing to work with you.
Knowing how and being able to delegate is critical. It creates the guidelines and offers the roadmap for how your team or company can get to the next mile marker or the end goal. Don’t delegate to be in control or to assert yourself as the person in charge. Delegation is a way of respecting others and guiding the direction of the ship. Delegate to help your staff learn, grow, and achieve new heights.
