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Every time you step into a bigger role, or even when you've been in the seat for a while, the same traps show up. Slipping back into old habits, avoiding the hard conversations that actually lift performance, and overcompensating for poor performers instead of leading at level now, if any of that sounds familiar, our brand new live workshop is for you. It's called the first 90 days at any New how to Win Trust, Build Credibility and Deliver Results. Marty and I are running it on September 17th live on Zoom. And if you show up live, you'll get the Blind Spot Identify Tool, a resource that exposes the hidden gaps holding leaders back. Save your free spot now at bit ly NBL90. That's bit ly NBL90. I can't wait to see you there. Welcome to the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast. In a world where knowledge has become a commod, this podcast is designed to give you something more access to the experience of a successful CEO who has already walked the path. So join your host, Martin Moore, who will unlock and bring to life your own leadership experiences and accelerate your journey to leadership excellence.
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Welcome to Moments with Marty, your short, sharp shot of leadership insight to help you to stay on track between our weekly episodes of the no Bullshit Leadership Podcast. Most organizations have multiple layers of people. The largest organisations can have six or seven or even eight layers of leaders. And every layer is different. It has a unique purpose and a unique time horizon that those leaders need to focus on. During my corporate executive career, not working at the right level was probably the most common problem that I saw holding leaders back. And I'm talking about leaders at all levels, from frontline supervisors to chief executives of major businesses. A lot of leaders say they want to delegate more to give their people more responsibility and not have to do so much themselves. But even before those words have passed their lips, they manage to shoot themselves in the foot. There are a number of obstacles that are going to stop you from from delegating successfully and making that delegation stick. Things that are going to distract you from what you ultimately want to achieve. The first is that perfectionistic streak that you have. You truly believe that no one can do it as well as you. And at low levels of leadership, you're absolutely right. Let's face it, when you were first promoted, it was for a reason. You probably were the most capable technical person you in your team. But once you've been promoted to lead that team, if you continue to do the technical work rather than delegating that work, your people never grow and you will never be able to Elevate yourself above the day to day detail. The second obstacle is that you may get into the bad habit of delegating the task, but not delegating the accountability. You let the people below you do the work, but you expect them to come to you with problems, to run their decisions past you, and to make sure you are intimately involved in everything they do. The third obstacle is trying too hard to control the outcomes. Now, it's really scary. When you first work out that you aren't holding the delivery levers yourself. You have to convince your people that they should hold those levers and then you have to show them how to use them. Initially, this is way more time consuming and and way more frustrating than just rolling your sleeves up and doing it yourself. But if you don't learn to trust your team to do their jobs and you succumb to your own insecurity, you're never going to get the most out of your people. The fourth obstacle is micromanaging, wanting to understand the work at a level of detail that is entirely inappropriate for the level you're being paid to work at. And the fifth and final impediment is unconsciously usurping your people's decision making rights. I used to do this all the time when people came to me for advice. I'd say, look, this is completely your decision and I'm really happy to go with whatever you decide. However, if I were you, I'd want to think about these things. I had my thumb on the scales. Whenever you over function for your people, they learn to ease off. You're training them to be dependent and weak. Now to be fair, this is rarely fatal, but you'll find that you have to work a lot harder than you should and your people won't grow. So how do you delegate so that it really sticks? The place to start is by being attuned to and eliminating those five obstacles. Once you've done that, it's just a matter of stopping the dumb shit. Don't get in your people's way. Coach them, guide them and support them for sure. But whatever you do, don't dip down. Now there are three things to bear in mind that are going to help you to avoid dipping down while still allowing you to inspect progress diligently. The first is focus to the greatest extent possible on outcomes, not inputs. The second is whenever someone comes to you for help, don't give directions. Instead, ask questions. And the third thing is, whenever you do ask questions, make sure they're pitched at the appropriate level of detail. Now if you say all this fast enough? It sounds easy, but believe me, working out how to really make delegation stick is a lifelong quest. Once you master it, though, the performance that your team delivers will will be as different as night and day. For more depth on this insight, have a listen to episode 211 of the no Bullshit Leadership podcast, Successful Delegation. We'll leave a link in the show notes. I really hope you enjoyed this moment and that it gives you that extra little spark to be a no Bullshit.