Start-up founders often find themselves weighed down by millions of decisions they have to make every day, leaving them burned out by the end of the week. Yet, research from McKinsey showed that most of these decisions are frequent, routine ones that are suitable for delegation. The ability to delegate has always been identified as one of the key skills in leadership for growth, yet not many find it easy to implement. Please read on to learn which decisions to delegate and how to delegate them.
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[𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝟑: 𝐀 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]
Start-up founders often find themselves weighed down by millions of decisions they have to make every day, leaving them burned out by the end of the week. Yet, research from McKinsey showed that most of these decisions are frequent, routine ones that are suitable for delegation. The ability to delegate has always been identified as one of the key skills in leadership for growth, yet not many find it easy to implement. Please read on to learn which decisions to delegate and how to delegate them.
[𝐀𝐬𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬]
To identify which decisions are suitable for delegation, make a list of frequently occurring decisions and ask yourself 3 questions when considering each one:
If you can say a resounding ‘yes’ to all those questions, delegate it. Save your capacities for decisions with only one shot to get right and only you have the ability to make.
[𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬]
Overlapping responsibilities can often make people confused about who is making the decisions, leading to inefficiency and slower responses. Leaders need to be explicit with their employees about whether the decision is fully delegated or that they only need input and still want to have the final say.
[𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡]
Leaders also need to set out clear regulations and protocols as to when a decision needs to be moved up the ladder, or in other words, reviewed and made by senior management. This helps avoid potential risks, yet still keeps things moving quickly.
[𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲]
People often avoid making decisions for fear of taking personal risks, thus giving in to escalating decisions. Therefore, leaders need to play a vital role in encouraging personal ownership even when a bad decision can be made. In fact, we need to accept the fact that bad decisions can be made now and then, but don’t be tempted to yank back your control and risk losing big deals due to slow responses. Rather, delegate decisions and reinforce the system with greater leadership accountability and transparency.
