Why CEOs need to delegate: A CEO explains

Why CEOs need to delegate : A CEO explains

Introduction

A few years ago, one of my employees asked me to stop delegating so much work to her. She was right. I was giving up too much control over projects she was working on for the company and micromanaging them instead. But I had an excuse: I didn't want to hire anyone else because it would mean less work for me!

This is a problem I've struggled with.

If you are a CEO, you have likely been told that you need to learn to delegate more.

You may have even agreed with them, but let’s be honest: Delegating is hard!

It can feel like giving up control over your business and your life—and it can take time and practice before you get used to letting go of the reigns. So how do we know when it’s time?

I believe you can never have too many good people working for you. And good people are always better than you are at doing something that isn't your greatest talent.

Let me tell you a story about delegation.

One day, I was sitting in my office looking over some spreadsheets when my secretary buzzed me on the intercom. "Excuse me," she said, "but there is an issue with our printer."

"There is?" I replied. "Okay, sure thing."

I looked at the machine again and noticed two issues: one was that it wasn't printing anything at all, and another was that the paper tray was empty but still running anyway (and making a lot of noise).

I took care of those problems quickly enough—and then realized that dozens more issues were waiting for me back at my desk just across from where this printer sat glaringly unproductive all day long!

The only thing I kept to myself was decisions about strategy and mission and vision, which is an essential part of being a leader

The only thing I kept to myself was decisions about strategy and mission and vision, which is an essential part of being a leader. You need to be able to step back and look at the big picture, where you will ask yourself: am I doing what's right for the company? Is this the best way for us to reach our goals? These are questions that need answers from a higher authority than anyone else in your organization.

If you're delegating tasks like these, there's something wrong with your leadership style. If people can't trust that their leaders have the skills needed for making important decisions and acting on them effectively, they won't respect those leaders—and they certainly won't follow them!

Delegating is not just hard, it's also perilous. Often when we delegate we're giving up both power and control, something no leader wants to do easily or often.

As a CEO, I've delegated many things. It can be hard to let go of control and trust someone else with your vision. But it's also an essential part of running a successful business, and one of the best ways to grow as an executive.

To delegate effectively, you need to:

• Give up power - If you want to pass along tasks or projects, you have to give up some control over the end result. In some cases, this means completely letting go; in others it may only mean giving someone else partial responsibility for how something turns out (for example, trusting them not just with their own work but with yours). Either way, letting go requires faith in both yourself and other people—and when either of those is lacking there will be problems later on down the line.
• Let go of details - While it's tempting say "My team knows how I want things done," there

Hiring good people means surrounding yourself with people who won't be intimidated by your success but inspired by it. This may mean hiring people who are very different from the rest of your management team but necessary to achieve your goals.

Hiring good people means surrounding yourself with people who won't be intimidated by your success but inspired by it. This may mean hiring people who are very different from the rest of your management team but necessary to achieve your goals.

Look, I'm not saying that you need to be surrounded by sycophants or those with poor work ethics (though there's nothing wrong with either). You just need to find folks that fit into the culture and ethos of the company at this stage in its growth. A team full of yes men will only get you so far; if they all agree on every decision then they'll never question anything or offer new ideas which could improve efficiency and profit margins long-term. But on the other hand, having a bunch of dissenters could be equally dangerous as well because they might seek out other employment opportunities elsewhere rather than stick around for long enough for things to get done properly

Conclusion

I hope the idea of delegation is starting to sound more like a promising option for you. It can be hard to let go of the reins and trust someone else with your responsibilities, but if you're willing to work on it and make sure that person has all the tools they need, then there's no reason why this shouldn't work out just fine for everyone involved! I know it might seem like a big risk at first glance, but when we look back over history at all those successful leaders who delegated well (and there are plenty), I think it becomes clear that they weren't crazy after all—they just knew what needed doing better than anyone else did."