Geraldine Carter

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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



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