5 Lessons I learned about delegating and letting go at Work

As I progress in my career, I am learning a leadership skill that does not come naturally to me as someone who likes to be in control. Delegating tasks and responsibilities to people on my team is required for me to succeed professionally this year. At the beginning of the year, I realized I needed to actively work on letting go and trusting that others could get the work done. Over the past six months, I have built a team of six awesome people. Learning to delegate was a prerequisite for succeeding in this new career phase.
 
In this blog post, I will share the lessons I have learned on my journey and how my mindset has changed concerning delegating at work. Check out my other "Her Career" blog posts for tips and resources to help you thrive professionally.
 
Lesson 1: Realizing that if I can keep working on everything myself without a team, then I  am not growing
The more we grow and gain leadership responsibility in our careers, the more our scope expands. With that comes the need to have multiple people working on delivering the growing scope. For the longest time, I thought I was showing my value by overworking and not realizing that people saw that as my scope was not large enough. While preparing for a promotion, one of my mentors advised me to think about how much more we could accomplish with a team of awesome people.
 
What results have I seen so far?

•  As a team, we are able to do more great work and have a significant impact

 
Lesson 2: Delegating to others helps them develop new skills
Teaching and sharing my skills is an area of strength for me. However, I never connected with delegating as a way to teach and pass on knowledge to others. When you delegate tasks to people, you create space for them to acquire and practice new skills. I have also learned that there is a way to delegate correctly by offering coaching and support for your team members as they take on new tasks.
 
What results have I seen so far?

• People on my team are developing skills that surpass anything I would have imagined

 
Lesson 3: Delegating makes space for me to focus on bigger things
Thinking that I had to do everything myself kept my focus on the day-to-day tasks rather than being strategic. I really enjoy thinking about the big picture, being strategic, and planning for the longer term. However, before I started delegating and trusting my team to drive work, I did not have time to do the things I enjoyed. I recently worked on our 2023 plan for one of my programs, which gives me a lot of fulfillment.
 
What results have I seen so far?

•  I am now able to focus on doing things I haven't had time to like strategizing, building relationships, and developing long-term plans

 
Lesson 4: To be successful, you need to let people know that you want to work on delegating
One practice that helps me when working towards a big goal is building a community of people who will support me on my journey. When I shared my goal to learn to delegate more to my extended team, they were very supportive, and one of them offered to be my accountability partner. People helped me keep my commitment as I worked towards my goal.
 
What results have I seen so far?

•  It feels very good for people to share the progress that they can see me making

 
Lesson 5: Delegating is a continuous learning journey
It is crucial for me to remind myself that the lessons I am learning about delegating are only the beginning. I am open to continuing to learn lessons, changing my mindset, and doing things differently to accomplish the best outcomes for my team. Learning and acquiring new leadership skills is something I enjoy doing, especially when I see the results.
 
What results have I seen so far?

• Having a growth mindset has helped me build a successful career, and I know it will pave the way for the great things I want to accomplish. 

 
Great Resources

• [Podcast] The Essentials: Delegating Effectively
• For Delegation to Work, It Has to Come with Coaching 
• Why Aren't You Delegating?
• 4 Ways Leaders Can Protect Their Time and Empower Their Teams
• Signs That You're a Micromanager