Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others

Your First Leadership Job

Mastery and Leadership Skills17 DelegationBe a Delegator, Not a Dumper

Pre:Think

Have you ever had a boss who dumped a task on you, providing little or no instruction regarding requirements or coaching to help you succeed? How did that feel? How did you cope? How do you want to be thought of as a leader—as a delegator or as a dumper?

To Delegate or Not to Delegate, That Is the Question

Let's face it: All too often leaders hold onto tasks and activities that they clearly should let go. So, what holds you back? Do you:

• Keep tasks because you believe short-term results may suffer as the person you delegate to gains experience?
• Avoid delegating developmental assignments because of the time and effort required to ensure the person's success?
• Worry about becoming expendable if you delegate more tasks?
• Fall into the trap of delegating to the same people over and over again because you know they'll do the job?
• Avoid delegating to your team because you know each member is too busy?
• Keep tasks because you fear that people would do the work differently than the way you'd like to see it done?

If you're like many first-time leaders, you clearly don't have the time or capacity to do everything yourself. But delegating tasks can be daunting, particularly if you're reluctant to give up the kind of work you enjoy or are worried about losing momentum on a project ...