Want a sucessful workplace? Delegate.

By Mary Anne Clancy

“It’s easier and faster if I just do it myself.”

“By the time I explain how to do it, I could have had it done.”

“No one will do it the way that I would do it...”

Sound familiar? I am sure that there are many out there that have uttered these justifications. Those who share my affliction of trying to do it all myself. And this attitude isn’t just limited to my professional world but it also spills into my personal life. As women, we not only think we can do it all — we believe we should do it all, or a tiny piece of us feels like we are failing.

The fact is we ARE failing if this is how we operate. We are failing the other people in our lives — our colleagues, our spouses, our family and friends — by not delegating.

Delegating is a particularly important skill if you are a woman in a business management or leadership position. But it doesn’t often come easily. I know I struggle with giving up control of the final product and worry others will think I am “avoiding” work if I ask them to handle something.

On the contrary, delegating with intention makes you a better leader. It helps you to empower and mentor the people you lead.

Encouraging your employees to take on and manage certain tasks will help them develop new and existing skills. They will appreciate being needed. We all want to feel valued. Delegating is a great way to help your employees contribute to success.

It is also good for us as leaders. When I give myself the time and space to focus on the things I am best at, the results are better. Knowing what you do best will help you to determine the tasks that need your personal attention, and the tasks that someone else can do.

Finally, delegating is good for our companies. When you delegate, your entire team is involved in taking on assignments.This improves the quality of the organization across the board. In fact, highly engaged teams show 21 percent greater profitability, according to a recent Gallup poll.

So, how do you begin delegating? Practice saying, “yes,” “no,” and “yes, if.”

Start by carefully assessing every demand that comes your way. Align the asks with the highest-valued contributions under your skillset. For those requests, you say yes and carve out the time to accomplish them. But for those requests that don’t align, you say no or yes, if... Then immediately identify other people to take on those tasks. You can still oversee, advise and motivate, and lead while delegating effectively.

Sounds easy, right? I’ll let you know! I