Master the Mindset of Delegation
It may seem like delegation is just a task you learn at work. To some degree it is, but if you don’t master the mindset of delegation, you’ll find yourself relying on old habits in tough situations.
When you land yourself in a role where you’re managing a team, you must shift yourself more into the mindset of a teacher rather than a peer, because now your number one job is responsibility for your whole team’s opportunity to learn. And this is important work!
Once you master the mindset, you’ll -
Build your muscles to delegate well in any circumstance
Stay focused on your biggest goals
Be able to more easily ride the wave of ups and downs of work stress
Have a fulfilled team that’s begging to work with you
Delegation requires a high-level of decision making, directing, and then letting go. Many of us struggle the most with letting go, however we’ll explore each of the key tenants to becoming a pro delegator.
Decision-making - A big part of delegating well is the ability to make decisions with limited information. Maybe the scope of a project isn’t completely defined, but it’s imperative to begin work, and you must decide who is going to do what. There will always be many unknowns like if the team you assemble will get along, or whether a team member is the right person to do a specific job. I offer the yogic principle of Tapas which means discipline. The ability to make decisions well is a practice and over time, if you stay committed to owning your decisions, it will come will more ease.
Directing - Once you decide who is going to do something, you have to tell them what to do. There is a thin line between directing your team and outlining every single step to take and then incessantly checking in. Aparigraha means non-hoarding in Sanskrit, and is and when you become a helicopter manager, I recommend checking in on this virtue. If you’re looking for every opportunity to jump in and help or save, you’re essentially hoarding the project or the outcome. How can you set your team up for the most possible success AND let them fully do the work?
Letting Go - In all delegation, there ALWAYS has to be an element of letting go or what the yogis called non-attachment. You not only need to be able to let go of allowing your team do the work that you’ve given them, but you also need to let go of worrying about it. When you spend your whole day wondering and worrying about your team’s outcome, you’re likely sabotaging your own productivity and performance. You have to trust your team enough to even FAIL and know confidently they can dig themselves out.
I love this saying about managing and delegating that goes, “When you protect someone from failure, you deny them the opportunity to learn.”
I help my clients become master delegators so they can make more impact at work in less time without stress and anxiety. Send me a message on the “Contact” page to set up a free consultation call to see if this work is right for you.