Lead with Dylan

Great at delegating? But still working late on things you could have handed over?

It’s not a delegation problem, it’s a lack of clarity.

Here’s why.

If you were 100% confident the task would be done exactly like you’d do it, you’d have delegated it already.

So you don’t trust the team to do the task to standard.

That’s why it’s still on your to do list and not theirs.

But you delegate other things?

What’s special about this one?

The truth is a reluctance to delegate means you aren’t confident that you can articulate exactly what success looks like.

Clarity is step 1 to scuffed delegation.

Sometimes it’s hard to put our knowledge of how things should be into words.

That’s why I created a simple 3 question framework that makes getting clear, easy.

Comment “Clear” and I’ll flick it over.

Why use many word when few word work?

I’d love to say this was hard to script but this was pretty much how my brain was working at 4pm on a Friday.

When my clients make this shift is when they start to have a real business not just an expensive job.

There’s levels to delegation.

1. Do this thing this way
2. Do this thing, the best way you see how
3. Achieve this outcome this way
4. Achieve this outcome the best way you see how

Only when you get to level 4 does your business actually GET BETTER WITHOUT YOU.

Most founders get to the point where the business runs without them, then they stop.

But then the whole thing stagnates.

Performance drops.

Profits slide.

And the owner gets pulled back in.

You only truly have a business when it’s improving while you’re not there.

If you’d like my help creating that, dm me “Gameplan”.

If you’re still posting your job ads on seek and praying for good applicants…

You’re out of luck.

The best people are the ones who’ve watched your personal / business brand for the last 12 months.

Or referrals from those people.

Yes seek still has a place.

As a plan B.

Leverage your network (even your personal socials work!), before relying on the big boards.

If you’d like my A-Z guide for hiring A-Players consistently, comment “blueprint” and robo Dylan will flick it over.

If you don’t respect yourself as a leader.

Then your team won’t either.

And I get it.

Stepping into that role is tough.

But to quote my business coach, “you need to do it with brown pants”.

Only action (actually stepping up and taking charge) is going to get you over that hurdle.

Saying “I am a leader” to yourself in the mirror 15x each morning isn’t helping. (I know a coach who actually gets their clients to do this)

Take action, and confidence follows.

These are all limiting beliefs that hold you back as a leader.

This is exactly why I always have a coach.

We don’t know what our blind spots are until someone helps point them out for us.

And when someone has been there, done that.

Identifying these blind spots are easy.

It doesn’t need to be me, or even a leadership coach. But you need someone in your corner who is willing to call you out on your gaps.

What do we reckon?

Should El get a second go to redeem herself?

If you care about developing as a leader, you need your teams feedback.

Here’s how you can ensure you get as much as possible:

1️⃣Ask at a routine interval (weekly 1:1)
Giving feedback to your boss is intimidating. Occasionally asking out of the blue doesn’t work. People need to expect you to ask so they have time to prep what they are going to say.

2️⃣Thank them for doing it.
Whether you agree or not, reward the attempt. Praising staff for giving feedback means they’ll do it more in future.

3️⃣Action the feedback.
If it’s valid, commit to fixing it (and actually do it).
If they are off base, missing context or the feedback isn’t something you’re actually going to change - be honest.

Nothing will shut down future feedback like saying you’re going to change and not following through.

Want more tools to be the best leader you can for your business?

Follow for more.

Keeping the wrong people for too long keeps service businesses stuck.

But we also need to be fair and set people up to succeed.

I make these decisions based on trajectory.

Aka is someone improving?

This is a better reflection of their long term performance than their current performance level.

Follow for more leadership strategies you can apply to your business.