Rethinking Delegation: What a Great Team Can (and Can’t) Do for Your Business

If you’ve read my blogs about entrepreneurial freedom, you know that I’m a fan of delegation. And I’m not the only one. Many business coaches and consultants will tell you the same thing. To preserve your sanity and grow your business, you need to free up your time and energy — and that means clearing tasks off your plate.

However, many entrepreneurs interpret that to mean that they can simply hand off items. But there’s a missing piece: who is accountable for that task? If you’re delegating a task but you still feel the need to babysit it, are you really free?

Not at all. So, let’s look at the other side of delegation: accountability and how to build strong teams you can trust.

Delegation vs. Leadership

Have you ever had a boss who assigned tasks but micromanaged all the assignees? Or perhaps you’ve been on teams where there was always a ton to do but no clarity on why you were doing it.

Those situations happen when executives delegate tasks without considering accountability. The best leaders inspire others to feel ownership of their work. That’s often lacking when people get assigned projects with no outcome attached.