One of the constant challenges of growth is mastering the art of delegation. While there are some stand-out wizards of this such as Richard Branson, who has delegated and diversified his Virgin Brand globally, for most leaders this is a constant challenge.
I received a timely reminder of this recently in a meeting with the deputy EU Ambassador for South Africa, Mr Raul de Lutzenberger. We were discussing how to avoid becoming the bottleneck in our organisations when he shared with me his simple but powerful daily strategy when tasks land on his desk. It is to ask himself: “Who else can do this?”
His qualifying statement was that as a leader one has to accept that the outcomes may differ from what you would do – and they may not be perfect. However, unless we allow space for others to lift themselves up and explore their own initiative, neither you the leader nor the team can grow.
Perhaps it’s time to put that question “who else can do this?” on our screen saver?
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About the Author
Catherine Wijnberg is a serial entrepreneur and the author of Sheep Will Never Rule The World.
