Leaders, Do You Know How to Spell Delegate?
Charanjit Singh Lehal
Leadership & Management Coach | ?? Expert Performance Consultant | ?? Specialist in Training Effectiveness (ROI in Training) Driving Excellence | Ensuring Measurable Impact
A while ago, I heard a leader say something that stuck with me:
"Delegation is not about passing the baton. It’s about making sure the next person can run with it."
And yet, I see so many leaders struggling with delegation.
They assign tasks, expect results, and then—boom!—things don’t go as planned. The work isn’t done the way they wanted, so they step in, fix things themselves, and tell themselves:
"Next time, I’ll just do it myself. It’s faster that way."
Sound familiar?
?? Here’s the problem:
Delegation isn’t just about handing over tasks. It’s about handing them over to someone who’s ready.
And that’s where most leaders go wrong.
?Delegation Should Be the Last Step, Not the First
If you want delegation to actually work, don’t start by looking at what you can delegate. Start by asking:
?? Who can I develop?
? Do they have the skills? If not, a little coaching or training goes a long way.
? Are they confident? People hesitate when they feel unprepared. Give them small wins before throwing them into the deep end.
? Do they feel ownership? If delegation feels like dumping work, they’ll treat it that way. Let them see how their contribution matters.
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A Better Way to Delegate: Develop → Delegate → Support
?? Step 1: Develop – Teach, guide, and prepare your people before assigning responsibility.
?? Step 2: Delegate – Once they’re ready, set clear expectations and step back.
?? Step 3: Support – Stay available, offer feedback, but don’t micromanage.
When you develop before you delegate, you don’t just get work done—you build leaders.
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Why This Works
?? Less frustration—because people actually know what they’re doing.
?? Fewer mistakes—because they’ve had the chance to learn before taking full ownership.
?? More bandwidth for you—because you’re no longer stuck fixing things last minute.
?? A stronger team—because when you invest in people, they step up.
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Final Thought
So, leaders, how do you spell delegate?
For me, it’s spelled D-E-V-E-L-O-P first.
What about you? Have you ever had delegation backfire because the person wasn’t ready? Or maybe you’ve seen it work brilliantly because they were?
?? Drop your thoughts in the comments! Let’s discuss. ????
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Corporate Development Officer, Controls & Compliance Leader & Operations Enablement Leader(earlier CFO,India) at EYGDS by profession | Marshall Goldsmith & Gallup certified executive coach & Meditation teacher by passion
1 周Well saif Charanjit Singh Lehal, it is about just not handing over, it is about handing over to who is ready??
Top E-commerce Voice | Top AI Voice | CEO at Code Studio Pvt Ltd | IT Services and IT Consultancy
1 周Useful tips Charanjit Singh Lehal
AGM ARD QUALITY CONTROL at THEMIS
1 周Insightful
Founder - Leadership Development SaaS Platform "GOALS N U", Investor, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Design Thinking Master Practitioner, Director on Board, Indian Society of NLP, Six Sigma Black Belt, ACC
1 周Delegation's tricky! Prepping my team first made a big difference. #Leadership #TeamGrowth
With every day forward I Am God's Light! ??
1 周Often tall Poppy Syndrome or jealousy creates exclusion. I'm a classic case my Friend. I came from a different region , a opposing company, and long service of 1# years and over 22 years knowledge in the field. There was no way in the world I could step forward because as a floor worker, I wasn't heard. This also restricted the progress in the company to just a floor worker. My Pride in my work equaled my Integrity. It takes a Special boss who becomes a Leader for the People to be a le to Delegate. You offer so much Wisdom Charanjit, it's people like You , like Femi, like Simon Squibb that enhance my Life. Bless You ??????????????