5 Reasons Why Female Leaders Must Learn to Delegate

Letting go after years of hard driving effort and having the focus on delivering work results at high achievement levels is difficult for most professional women. Afterall, we have cultivated our own cadence, rhythm, and know the “quality” that we expect and can deliver on the dime as needed. However, ascending into leadership at higher levels requires delegation ability. Female leaders, like all leaders, benefit significantly from mastering the art of delegation. Here are five reasons why it is particularly crucial for them to adopt the practice.

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1.?????? Work-Life Balance: The quest for balance begins with us and must be made a priority. Female leaders often face unique challenges in balancing their professional responsibilities with personal obligations, including caregiving and household duties. The practice of observing how to “work smarter not harder” requires slowing down to assess which tasks at work or at home can be “outsourced” to provide gains of time in return. Are there Admin resources available at work that can take on some outlined duties? What type of support at home might be helpful to provide relief? Beginning the process of identifying and delegating on smaller levels makes it easier to “let go” and prove to yourself that it is ok to build and have a team to assist you. The gift of mental energy will support reducing feelings of overwhelm or burnout as you continue to climb up the ladder.

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2.?????? Breaking the "Superwoman" Myth: Female leaders may feel pressure to fulfill societal expectations of being perfect at everything, often referred to as the "Superwoman" myth. “Having it all,” was a lie that has been perpetuated without reality checking. The truth is that women are working two or three times harder than their male counterparts who are able to leave the office and truly be “off the clock” when they get home, whereas “job #2” or three typically picks up when women get home. Having it all is relative and also must be aligned with the “season of life.” Tradeoffs have to be made and the coming to terms with what your career will look like during child rearing years, or caregiver years provides an opportunity for grace, empathy, and negotiation of duties. Recognizing The societal norms have become unbalanced, and something has to give somewhere to maintain mental and physical health as well as have capacity to lead effectively. Learning to delegate as you climb helps to challenge and eradicate this unrealistic standard by recognizing that it is okay to seek support and share responsibilities.

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3.?????? Development of Leadership Skills: Learning to separate being a “doer” and leaning into leading others requires a mental shift. It becomes less about “perceived perfection” in execution and now becomes about how well you can provide a roadmap for others to follow. Delegation is a “must do” and is a fundamental leadership skill that enhances effectiveness and efficiency. Recognizing that success measures are now focused on the oversight of a team and their ability to execute, and deliver is the new requirement. By learning to do less direct work, the delegation of product delivery creates the headspace for time, energy, and freedom to envision and innovate. Additional skills such as relationship-building, decision making, and higher-level strategic planning are working to develop big picture acumen. These are the new factors that must be honed to support continuous career advancement.

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4.?????? Promotion of Gender Equality: Delegating responsibilities empowers team members and fosters a culture of inclusivity and collaboration. Female leaders who delegate effectively demonstrate that leadership is not about controlling every aspect of a project but about trusting, and supporting others in their professional development journey, with the added opportunity to role model and promote gender equality in the workplace. Becoming known as a leader with impact and influence is a “genderless trait” and is rightly about delivering results for the organization at large. Having open conversations with life partners, and extended family to outline and discuss the division of duties at home promotes the creation of a lifestyle that serves everyone holistically.

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5.?????? Career Advancement and Succession Planning: Strategic planning is not limited to meeting the corporate goals, it also applies to keeping the long-term career vision alive. Being positioned as the next successor to a Sr. Leader or an Executive will mean broadening your scope of responsibility, exposure, and learning more about the connecting aspects of other business units and how all of the lines of business work together in concert to move the company forward. Working across the aisle and managing up and down must be fluid and become second nature. By delegating work tasks regularly, female leaders prepare themselves and their teams for future growth and succession planning. By empowering team members to take on new challenges and develop their skills, female leaders create opportunities for advancement within their organizations, and potentially open doors to higher-level leadership roles for themselves and others.

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Overall, the act of delegation is the natural step in the developmental progression for any leader and especially for women leaders. The first step is recognizing this skill as a practice to begin as soon as possible when accepting the very first team lead or supervision role. Making the intentional mindset shift to adopt and appreciate the many benefits for doing so will make it easier as people leadership responsibility continues to grow. As a future leader of “leaders,” equipping and trusting your team is an imperative to have the bandwidth for organizational strategy and planning. Learning to provide direction and feedback supports success in this endeavor. Cheers to seeing more female leaders on the rise break through the middle rungs to continue their ascent into those seats that await them at the top of the career staircase.

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?Sheryl Brinkley is a Women's Leadership Pipeline Builder & Sustainer and a Career Acceleration Catalyst Specializing in Hi-Potential & Mid-Level leader progression into Sr. Level & C-Suite positions. She is an Executive & Positive Intelligence Mental Fitness Coach supporting her clients in their holistic self-actualization pursuits while deepening self-awareness for maximal leadership impact.

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