Delegation Without Guilt

From Doing to Leading: Practical Tips for Delegating Without Guilt

Stepping into your first leadership role is exciting, but let’s not ignore the fact that it also is a big shift: You go from "doing" tasks and following your management’s decisions to be the one who has to choose what to let go without feeling and what decision is best, not just for yourself, but for your team.

In fact, one of the hardest things new managers tell me about is delegation. Basically, it can feel very uncomfortable at first. Many say:

• “If I hand this over, they will think I am lazy.”
• “I can do it faster myself.”
• “I don’t want to overload my team.”

Does any of these sound familiar?

The truth is that delegation is not about dumping work on your team. It’s about creating space to grow, for yourself and for your team.

Why Holding on Holds You Back

When you keep doing everything yourself without letting go, a few things may happen:

• You burn out. The workload piles up, your focus scatters and, instead of doing what you have been paid to do (lead), you end up being a very expensive employee with a management title and no time for breaks.
• Your team misses out. They don’t get the chance to learn or and face different challenges. If you hold on to all the work and leave the “unimportant” tasks to your team, they will not only miss out, but they will feel you don’t trust them enough, which will decrease their engagement, motivation and drive to do a good job.
• You stay stuck. Instead of moving into the leader’s role, you are still acting as the “super-doer.” As mentioned before, you become an expensive employee with management title, but the worst part is that you will be so busy being a “doer” that you will miss out on great opportunities to learn, grow and lead, so you will stay put where you are. Forever.

Leadership is about stepping back to see the bigger picture, you can’t become a strong leader if you are buried in tasks or, even worse, if you micromanage.

Delegation as a Leadership Superpower

Delegation, when well done, can be one of the most powerful tools you have as a leader. It will:

• Build trust within your team.
• Boost your team members’ self-confidence.
• Help people take ownership and be accountable.
• Give you the headspace to focus on priorities and projects that only you can handle.

Truth is that delegation is not just about giving away work, it’s about giving handing over opportunities to others to help them grow.

How to Delegate Without Guilt

Delegating can become your biggest ally, but first, you need to start letting go. For this, here are four simple steps that can help you:

1. Accept the guilt. Yes, there is no way to sugarcoat this: you may feel guilty the first times you delegate something to your team. It is just human to think that you are “troubling them” with an extra task. However, you will need to delegate so you can do what is expected from you now: lead, not just being the “top doer”. Use that initial guilt to your favour by thinking things through and making the right choices, and it will decrease more every time.

Also, think the big picture: you are not “troubling them”, you are handing over certain projects and tasks that can help them in the long run.

2. Match the right task to the right person. Think about you team members’ strengths, interests, ambitions, but also weaknesses and, with all that in mind, find what will get them out of their comfort zone just enough so they feel motivated and engaged.
3. Lead with clarity. Explain the expected outcome, the deadline, and why it is important for the wider business. Being clear with guidelines, expectations and the organisation’s perspective will provide your team with a clear goal and its key milestones to achieve.
4. Step back but stay available. Check in without micromanaging. Trust, but support. Once the guidelines, expected outcome and deadlines are clear, let them do. Everyone has a different way of proceeding, but there is no just one way of doing things. Trust your team and stay focused on the outcome. If they need help, make sure you provide it without taking over the project, as this would crash their self-confidence and motivation.
5. Acknowledge effort. Recognise their progress, not just the finished product. Look at how they achieved what they did. It may not be the same way you would have done it, but it got them to the finish line with great results. Admit that there is more than one way of doing things and appreciate the effort and celebrate every milestone with them.

A Gentle Reminder

Delegation, same as asking for help, is not a weakness. It’s a skill. Every great leader learns it and masters it. And the sooner you start practising, the sooner your team (and you) will thrive.

If you are a new manager struggling with delegation or the shift from “doing” to “leading,” my coaching programme Lead with Confidence is designed exactly for you. Drop me a message if you would like to chat about how it could help you grow.