Most managers know they should offload more tasks but falter. In this brief video, MIT SMR columnist Sanyin Siang reveals why many leaders are still doing everything themselves and suggests a simple mindset shift for effective delegating.
Stop trying to delegate tasks. Start delegating problems.
That’s the key insight from this conversation between MIT Sloan Management Review’s Elizabeth Heichler and columnist Sanyin Siang about why delegation is so hard for managers.
“I personally had a goal to delegate more last year,” Heichler admits. “I think it’s the one thing that I fell down on.”
Siang’s response reframes the entire issue: You can’t delegate without also developing your team. Delegation and development happen together or not at all.
For example, Siang asked a team member to explore how their organization could improve its LinkedIn content. The assignment was open-ended and nonprescriptive. Through the process, she discovered the person’s strengths (such as analysis and ability to experiment) and noted areas where they could improve.
Siang suggests a practical way to get started: Instead of trying to create perfect instructions, think out loud about the problems you’re trying to solve. Share what you know, what you don’t know, and ask, “What do you think?”
Still, many managers feel they must have all the answers before assigning work. To overcome the hesitancy, help the other person “take a trip inside your head,” Siang suggests. Show your thinking process, including any uncertainties, as you work together toward a solution.
When you develop people through collaborative problem-solving, you eventually gain time instead of losing it. That’s how leaders scale themselves.
Video Credits
Sanyin Siang is a CEO coach and leads the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE) at Duke University.
Elizabeth Heichler is the editorial director, magazine, at MIT Sloan Management Review.
M. Shawn Read is the multimedia editor at MIT Sloan Management Review.