INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 54
WORK SMART
they know they need to get things off their
plate, but they still don’t do it — and the
question is: why?”
She believes it comes down to mindset.
“Often, [leaders are] held back by limiting
beliefs such as ‘I’m too busy to delegate’,
or ‘No one will do it as well as me’.”
The solution lies in switching the narrative.
“Choose new, more empowering beliefs,
such as ‘The more that I delegate, the more
time I have', or ‘The more that I let go,
the more my business grows’,” she says.
“When we start to anchor into a new
mindset, we can take steps forward.”
THE LOOSE–TIGHT APPROACH
READ
an article on how
stress bragging
may be impacting
your career
UPSKILL
with CPA Australia
and Harvard
Business Publishing’s
Developing
Employees online
course
54 INTHEBLACK May 2025
Campbell recommends approaching delegation
strategically.
“Not all tasks are created equally,” she says,
calling on the Pareto principle, which states
that 80 per cent of outcomes come from
20 per cent of inputs. “It’s about understanding
what tasks I can master that make the biggest
impact and learning how to delegate the rest.”
Once a manager has determined what tasks
to delegate, Campbell recommends following
the “loose–tight approach”.
“What that means is being tight on
the outcome that you want achieved and
loose on how you get there,” she explains.
This method is an effective way to use
delegation to build a team’s capabilities.
“We’re able to empower our team to use
their unique strengths to achieve the outcome,
rather than feeling like we’re standing over
the top of them, micromanaging,” she says.
Managers who are still getting to know
their team can be more explicit in their
requests for help. “A manager can say
to the team, ‘For this project, I need
someone who has incredible organisational
skills, a great eye for detail and who loves
an Excel spreadsheet’ and ask people to
volunteer based on what their strengths are,”
Campbell says.
“There are lots of different ways you can
go about it, depending on how well you know
your team and how capable and experienced
they are.”
THE FOUR LEVELS OF DELEGATION
In Leadership Hacks, Stein divides
delegation into four levels. At level one,
a manager performs the task without
delegating; while at level four, the complete
task or project is handed over with little
direction or oversight.
“The biggest mistake is delegating
at the wrong level,” Stein says.
“Most people should start at level two,
where the manager sits down with their
report, and they look at the task together.”
At level two, the manager offers a degree
of guidance, helping to map out a plan
about how the task will be approached
and scheduling check-ins along the way.
“The employee can see exactly what you
want them to do, and they know the order
and the timeframe you want them to do it in,”
Stein says.
The level of delegation increases with
experience. At levels three and four, the report
has more autonomy.
“The goal is to go to level four, where
you say, ‘Can you do this?’, and you know
they have the project-management skills
to identify what they’re going to do, what
order they’re going to do it in and how
to check in with you around timeframe.”
SHOW, DON’T TELL
Stein says a common error is to take
a high-handed approach to delegation.
“Telling people what to do doesn’t engage
people. It’s not about a tell; it should be
a show and an ask.” In practice, that means
presenting a task, asking for help and
sharing ideas about the best way to
undertake it.
“It’s about working with people to engage
them, rather than dictating. That’s the mistake
many people make when they’re new to the
role of supervisor or manager — they think,
‘I’m going to tell them what to do, and because
I’m in a position of authority, they’ll do it’,’’
Stein says.
“Great leaders and managers are the
ones that delegate — but they work with
their people.” ■
