Do you delegate strategically?

Deliberate delegation is essential for building strategic margin.

→ This is the fourth in a 7-part series on building strategic capacity in your organization. Part 1 here. Read Part 5 here.←

THINK ON IT: Do you delegate strategically? 

In post three of our 7-part series, I shared how growing your willpower is the first step to ensuring that you have strategic margin in your life and in your business. But even if you had an unlimited supply of willpower (an impossibility), there are only so many hours in a day. 

This is why delegation is such a powerful discipline to learn. 

But not just any kind of delegation — it has to be delegation by design. And it may be a bit different than how you might think of delegation. It starts with being clear about what you’re delegating to yourself first, before you delegate to others.  

We often think of delegation as the act of assigning to others what we could do ourselves. And when we don’t delegate, it’s often because we think we can get it done better or faster than someone else.

But, what if the first question we ask ourselves isn’t about what we could get rid of, but what we should keep?

What if we started with asking ourselves, “What’s the most important thing facing my business that uniquely requires my deepest contribution?” 

That question requires a lot of self-awareness from a leader, and that requires making that question a priority. 

So, set aside some time this week to make that question a priority. What is the most important thing that you alone are best equipped to handle?

Once you discover that, it is so much easier to unleash the lesser things to others.

Now you’re delegating strategically.

Want to go deeper? Paid subscribers, read on for an assessment of your delegative power and how to learn how to increase it. (Become a paid subscriber.)

“You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.” — Harry S. Truman

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