On Delegating

There are at least four types of delegation:

1. Reluctant delegation: when you are so far beyond capacity that you just HAVE to give it up.

2. Gripped delegation: when you want to give it up, and you sort of do, but because you haven’t written a tight process for your team, you end up micro-managing and inserting yourself in the process, which often results in your team “giving it back to you” because you’re the boss

3. Uneasy delegation: when you hand off the process, but your mind is not at ease that something won’t fall through the cracks because you’re not there to catch it; sure, the tasks have been moved off your plate but it is not delegated sufficiently to be "off your mind"

4. Proactive delegation: when you continuously ask yourself, “What can I make a process for next, so I can move it down the chain?” and then iteratively review the process with your staff until it’s working well, off your plate and off your mind

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If you want free time and peace of mind, practice your way to number four.