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Delegation: Working Harder Isn’t the Answer
For too many women, working hard seems to be the answer to everything, as if by doing everything, all at once, by ourselves, we can prove we’re worthy of that promotion, raise, or corner office. But in doing so, we may overlook those team and subordinate relationships that can help us achieve more, with less.
This chapter on delegation skills focuses on one of the most overlooked and underrated workplace relationships around. Learning to delegate allows you the space and time to lift your head among the crush of work and build your brand and network. The energy we use doing everything ourselves can keep us feeling (and looking) overwhelmed and harried at work. Delegation is another tool to help you connect your competence to your confidence. Looking like your hair is on fire does not instill confidence in your skills.
Don’t Micromanage
Like many corporate buzzwords, delegation carries with it a lot of baggage. As we assume more, and greater, responsibilities in our ascension through the ranks of leadership, naturally we can’t keep doing the things we did two or even three positions ago.
We have new responsibilities, yet we cling to our old work ethic of doing it twice as long, and twice as hard, as everyone else. Some of us may see delegation as a crutch, something the guys use to get things done while they’re out golfing. But like networking, delegation is a secret weapon savvy leaders use to accelerate both their personal brand and daily performance.
When it comes to delegation, we often get in our own way. I have seen many women get so torn up over the “housekeeping” issues of how to delegate—the nuts and bolts and ins and outs—that they decide it’s not worth the effort. I think women are consumed with “how to do it” and “what the value is.”
As we get into more senior roles, our work should become less tactical (operational) and more strategic (high-level leadership). Yet, the women we work with at the Half The Sky Leadership Institute are often extremely protective of “their” way of doing things. Essentially, they’re saying, “We’ve been rewarded for doing our work a certain way. If we give that up, we’ll lose ground.”
They get protective of the work that has gotten them into a higher position, and they tend to feel that if their name is attached to something, their handiwork should be all over it. They’re coveting their own personal brand. Perhaps they’ve found that past partners have either let them down or not shown the same work ethic. As a result, they don’t delegate. They try to keep all that work under their brand. They do it all themselves.
Sara King suggests that women refrain from what she calls “volunteering for work.” According to her, “All that does is increase your workload and doesn’t increase your value. It’s not uncommon that women fall into the trap of wanting to be seen as a go-to person or wanting to feel that they measure up or have done enough or are good enough, so we tend to volunteer trying to demonstrate our worth, and instead, all we end up doing is adding to our workload.”
Another problem with trying to do it all yourself is that you’re not where you were two or three positions ago, when the tactical was more immediate than the strategic. Leadership didn’t promote you to do what you’ve always done, but to do what it needs done, often at a much higher level. Your company’s leaders need your full attention on the tasks at hand, and quite frankly, they expect you to delegate those things you don’t need to do yourself.
That’s why, just like having a powerful network, having a team of “power players” is critical to helping you keep an eye on the strategic while letting others help you with the tactical. Trying to do it all yourself, no matter how capable you are, is doomed to fail. Trying to do too many things at once creates more room for error.
Jill Campbell of Cox Communications says, “I always tell people to accentuate their positives. Not everybody is good at everything. So particularly when you get into leadership positions, surround yourself with people who have the skill sets that you are weaker on. I’m a firm believer in hiring really excellent people because then you look good and you have less to do. So you promote them, you get them what they need, and it works both ways. Try to find people who could replace you if you got hit by a car tomorrow. And so that builds confidence in them as well because you’re allowing them to grow.”
Even for women leaders who do delegate, there’s a challenge: I’ve seen plenty of women managers who delegate work to someone else, and then, in an effort to ensure that the work lives up to the organization’s brand, they end up micromanaging how everything gets done along the way. Not only does this mean that you’re working as hard as if you did the work yourself, but it also limits your team’s creativity, confidence, and growth. You can’t elevate yourself or your team if you’re always looking over their shoulders and guiding them on every little thing; that’s not delegation by any stretch of the imagination.
True delegation relies on trust: trusting team members to do the job to your standards even when you’re not there to micromanage them every step of the way. I know it can be a challenge. We may have had bad experiences with delegation in the past, handing off critical assignments to less than stellar performers, only to wind up with egg on our faces. Don’t let one apple spoil the whole bunch. That’s why I included the topic of delegation in this section about relationships. When it comes to delegation, it’s all about finding the right people to partner with on your way to the top.
The Dangers of Not Delegating
Women laugh when I tell them there are dangers of not delegating, until I warn them that it could seriously impact their chances of promotion. How could that be? Well, it starts at the entry level when, like most women, you are dead set on proving yourself by doing twice as much as any of the other new hires, twice as hard, and twice as fast.
Trust me. I’ve been there. Accommodating to a fault, we are happy to take on as many duties, as often as needed, to the point where we build a reputation as the go-to gal for any and all tasks everybody else is eager to delegate. We do them so well and so graciously that we become too valuable where we are—and end up missing key opportunities—all because we put ourselves last.
It’s frustrating, unfair, and, unfortunately, far too common in the modern workplace. Part of it is that company leaders know it would probably take two or three new hires to replace you. But there’s something else: They may also fear that you won’t delegate once you’re a leader because you can’t delegate in your current position.
They know you do it all yourself—the office “steady Eddie”—and, as a result, you simply don’t get promoted. Bottom line: If we don’t make delegation a critical leadership competency, it falls by the wayside for some of us and, consequently, we have no ability to delegate.
Profile in Confidence:
Andrea Agnew, Executive Director of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion, Comcast Cable
I’ll start with what confidence looks like to me. It is the ability to confront any given issue and respond in a way as if it was solving a problem. I think that confidence manifests itself in women in very different ways. So whether it’s around family, relationships, or work, I think women have a way of dissecting the problem and trying to get to a solution. I think that’s how it manifests in women.
There are five key things I think you should focus on when working on your confidence. I think the first one is to know what you really want to do and where you really want to go. I have conversations with people day in and day out talking about how they’re ready for the next role, they’re ready to make a move, but they’re not sure about what that move is. So the first thing is to know where you want to go, and be definite about that. What you want to do and where you want to go.
The second thing I would say is to make sure you have the skill set that gets you there. And if you don’t, then begin building that skill set to get you there. You have to take a self-inventory to make sure that you are ready to get there.
The third thing I would say is to hone your business acumen. And I say that because business happens in very different places. It can happen over a happy hour after work. It could happen on the way to go get coffee. It could happen on a golf course. It could happen in any type of setting. So hone your business acumen and your financial business acumen as well.
Fourth, I would say, is work on developing others. I think the greatest asset for leaders is to build their legacy while they’re living. And the more that you give a little bit away to someone else, the longer your legacy lives. There is that old adage: Your light doesn’t dim because you light someone else’s candle. I think there is enough room in the sunshine for us all, but a true leader builds other leaders, they don’t build followers.
And the fifth thing is to be hungry for what it is you want. And that could be getting healthy emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, or financially. You’ve got to be hungry for those things and get those things in order as well, because those are key things that not only get you to build your career but help your career to be sustainable. Each of these things helps build and sustain confidence, both personally and professionally.
The Takeaway
Ultimately, delegation needs to become a part of your professional toolkit, not as a once-only “event” but as an institutional habit that helps others identify you as a potential leader who knows the importance of strategy over tactics. Think of it as an arm of your networking efforts, building a strong team of powerful partners you trust, implicitly, to help you achieve twice as much, twice as often—and twice as well!