The art of effective delegation
We have the privilege of seeing many businesses, of all types. So, as the days turn to years, we start to form hypotheses about why some businesses perform and others do not.
One such hypothesis is that businesses with leaders that delegate, do better. So, we set out to find out if that is true, and if it is, then what does that mean for you?
We found support for our hypothesis in Jesse Sostrin’s October 2017 article published by the Harvard Business Review. In part, Jesse says: “While it may seem difficult, elevating your impact requires you to embrace an unavoidable leadership paradox: You need to be more essential and less involved.”
Now, that’s interesting. Effective delegation is one aspect of constructive leadership. And we know that leadership drives culture, and culture drives performance. See for instance
Kotter & Heskett “Corporate Culture & Performance” (1992) or closer to home, Lion Nathan published a study “Historical links between Lion Nathan culture and Marketplace Success”.
All that is telling us that if you want your manufacturing business to perform better, commit to being a better leader. You can start that journey by getting better at delegating. And it might just be the thing that gives you back your energy.
Quoted in the May 2025 edition of CPA Australia’s magazine ‘In the Black’ , leadership expert Scott Stein says: “A manager is responsible for more tasks than they can accomplish on their own, so if they don’t delegate, they have to work more and more hours and risk burning out.”
If that sounds familiar, then on the drive home tonight, we invite you to consider this – when a task arises, is your first thought “who else can do this” and what are two things you were planning to do tomorrow, that you could actually delegate to someone else?
This stuff can be learned. Reach out if you would like to find out more.