Managers and leaders need to learn to manage their time and their team’s time so they have the time to do the things that only managers and leaders should be doing. They will burn themselves out if they continue doing their job and everyone else’s. If you are doing someone else’s job, you’ll never have enough time to do your own. You have to learn to give up control to get control. You need to learn to delegate some of your responsibilities to others on your team and resist the urge to micro-manage them. Delegation is a basic skill that distinguishes successful managers and leaders from those that aren’t. Putting out someone else’s fires is not a good use of your time.

Worth Remembering – Delegation requires the willingness to pay for short-term failures to gain long-term competencies. – Dave Ramsey.

If you’re not sure what to delegate, take a moment and compile a list of all the tasks that you perform. Once you’ve compiled your list, which ones are tasks that are sensitive in nature that only a manager or leader should be doing. Don’t pick ones just because you like doing them. After you have sorted out your priorities, find a way to delegate everything else.

Delegation steps.

1 – Identify what only you can do – confidential, final accountability.

2 – Pick the right work to delegate – repeatable, teachable.

3 – Choose the right person – fit, growth, ability.

4 – Define success – outcomes, deadlines, boundaries.

5 – Delegate authority – decisions, access information, limits.

6 – Set check-ins – milestones, follow-ups and resist the urge to micro-manage.

7 – Coach and debrief – what worked, what to improve, then repeat the steps.

Worth Remembering – If you delegate tasks, you create followers. If you delegate authority, you create leaders. – Craig Groescherl.

If you fail to delegate, you are robbing your people of their opportunity to grow. Be patient. It takes time for people to learn a new task. They will make mistakes – that’s where growth happens. It’s like riding a bike. The more they do it, the better they will get at doing it. Keep in mind that people like to put their own spin on things, so don’t get too hung up on how they are doing it – as long as it’s the end result that you are looking for. Stop putting out someone else’s fires.

Copyright 2026. Brian Smith – Power Link Dynamics. Not to be reproduced without permission. Are you searching for a keynote speaker or planning an in-person training session at your location. Brian works with people who want to communicate and interact more effectively with others, build collaborative teams, resolve conflicts, or motivate people to peform at their best.