Next-Level Leadership: Delegation and Creating Ownership

From seasoned professionals to new leaders in their first managerial position, a focus on continual development is key to ensuring workforces maintain high productivity, increase engagement, and build top talent. Whether working on communication skills or developing new leadership techniques, embracing a culture of growth helps build the next-level leader. And one area that is important to develop is employee delegation and creating ownership among your staff.

According to a study by Xero, 77% of small businesses feel the effects of burnout. Moreover, 94% of workers age 18 to 34 feel burnout, and 84% of the age group 35 to 50. That number drops to 59% for those over the age of 50. The percentage of worker burnout looks to be corelated with experience in the professional world. Delegation is one of the best ways to fight burnout by building up others while distributing work. Moreover, 79% of employees quit due to lack of opportunities to grow professionally, voice their opinions, and receive delegated tasks, according to a Bloom Leadership study. Through delegation and ownership, you not only create a more sustainable workplace, you also create a more engaged workforce.

Delegate to Regulate

One problem some leaders face in the office is taking on too many responsibilities and not fully trusting others to help regulate the workload. By distributing tasks that qualified employees can handle, leaders open up their schedule for high-end planning and projects. However, when a leader is stuck in the weeds with administrative duties and time-consuming activities, it can be more difficult to effectively manage others and give employees time for communication, constructive feedback, and training.

To outline which tasks and projects can be shifted to other employees, create a detailed list of what you spend your time on and rank items by time spent and importance. From meetings to workload to simple day-to-day tasks, work weeks can be filled with unnecessary activities, keeping leaders from the most important items on their to-do list. Consider shifting some of the more time-consuming but less-oversight-needed items to team members who have more margin to take on extra work.

Delegate to Elevate

Delegating tasks is not only a great way to lower the chances of burnout, but it can also increase engagement and retention among your employees. When a leader is focused on the nitty-gritty instead of the big picture, there tends to be less opportunity for training and mentoring others. And while 79% of employees quit due to lack of growth opportunities, 94% say they would stay even longer with a company if learning opportunities were offered, according to LinkedIn. Moreover, 68% of employees surveyed by ClearCompany cited training and development opportunities as a company’s most important policy.

Propping up your staff by delegating responsibilities to employees is not only a great way for professional growth, but it also helps build a deeper ownership within their position. By creating buy-in with your team, you not only get the benefit of a more regulated workload, but you also experience higher engagement and retention with your staff.

Delegate and Celebrate

Taking your leadership to the next level by embracing the art of delegating will help you build more margin in your schedule to focus on the most important tasks, as well as allow flexibility to take on that project your company may have on the backburner. And by doing so, you not only help create a more engaged workforce, you also elevate top talent to take on future leadership opportunities in your organization. Once your company has embraced this next-level leadership, it’s time to celebrate and look for the next opportunity to elevate your managerial skills. The next game-changing skill could be right around the corner.

How has delegation helped your workforce? What are other skills needed to be a next-level leader? Let us know in the comments section below!