Why Can't We Let Go to Rise Up?

In case you missed it, a recent article in Fortune about the steep cost of success for female executives has been generating a lot of discussion about why women still feel outsourcing and delegating personal work has a stigma attached to it.

"Hiring professional and household help is something that many working women discreetly employ like it’s a dirty little secret, fearing they’ll come across as entitled, incapable, or worse. Yet for most men, it’s a given."

Many women struggle with delegating. Partly due to how we are raised, with lots of praise for being helpful, working longer and harder and taking on more, more more. But that is just the express train to burnout, especially for working mothers looking to make it in the C-Suite or build successful businesses. I am a huge proponent of learning to let go so you can rise up. Delegating is what enables you to do more of your "genius work" – that things you are born to do, that you love to do, and that people pay you for.

It’s easy to get trapped in a cycle where much of our time gets dragged into the parts of running a business or doing a job that are outside that realm, simply because we haven't managed to properly delegate.?

The same thing can happen at home. Women do so much "invisible work" like making sure kids clothes still fit, stocking the fridge and keeping up with extended family. Why aren't more of us outsourcing as much as we can, so we can focus on the things we can't outsource, like being emotionally present for our partners, friends and children?

I have always had help with my two boys (now 14 and 18) and never could have built my businesses or raised two awesome young men without the wonderful women and men who stepped in to help with everything from meal prep to doctors appointments to drop off. This meant learning how to delegate like a pro. One of the ways I do that at work is with robust SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) --? a set of instructions for every key task and role in my business. It not only helps team members do their jobs, it helps me to sleep at night, knowing that if someone calls in sick, I have airtight systems in place for someone else to pick up a job and run with it.

I’ll be teaching how to create SOPs along with the four pillars of getting to $1 million - Mindset, Money, Strategy and Team - in MDW Accelerator, our signature business program. It teaches best practices in how to delegate your way to the top, plus SOP templates you can adapt for your own business. We only launch cohorts three times a year, and applications are open NOW, so make a move now if you want to learn how to do more of your genius work and double or triple your revenues this year. Go to millionwomen.com/mdw-accelerator to learn more and apply.

With the right tools and systems in place, opportunities for business growth in 2023 are limitless. And when we learn to delegate and share our best practices, we put an end to this harmful tradition of raising women to believe they need to be everything to everyone.

Do you agree we should start sharing more about how we use delegating and outsourcing to be high performing professionals, maintain a wide network of friendships, help our communities and show up for our family and friends?

P.S. if the Fortune article is paywalled, check out the version on Yahoo News. Look for "Childcare, housekeeper, and a personal assistant: Women are paying big bucks for support at home in order to reach the C-Suite"

#entrepreneurs #business #workingmoms #scalingup