Delegation to Others

The road to leadership is paved with action—with doing. Leaders are characterized by doing what other people don’t want to do. They do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, even at the cost of personal accomplishments. While this is an invaluable trait, it can be taken to an extreme and become their biggest liability.

At some point they have to rely on other people to help them do what needs to be done simply because they are approaching “personal burning out”. Delegating is a skill; a skill that can benefit both a leader and those whom he or she leads, but it has to start with the leader.

Remember -- Never keep work simply because you can do it better. By delegating certain tasks to others, it is one of the best ways to develop your people so they can become responsible and produce their own leadership qualifications. Delegating allows people to learn by doing, to take risks, and to build confidence. Only do those tasks that nobody else can do. Determine what needs to be delegated.

A leader must look at what they do and ask themselves…is this really where they need to be spending their time? All routine activities and minor decisions should be delegated to others. Any task that could be performed through someone else in your absence is a good candidate for delegation. Finally, delegating is a means of increasing the effectiveness of your time. It allows you the freedom to focus on the big picture verses the tasks of each day.