Let's get real: Most of the women I know don't need to do ‘more'. We are often already doing 10x more than our male counterparts.

And early on, that can actually set you apart. In fact, it may be what got you your first promotion.

The mistake I see too many women make is that they never make this key pivot: from doing it all and doing it all perfectly, to focusing only on the 20% that actually matters.

And to be very direct, if this is you, you are creating your own ceiling. Ooof.

In today's newsletter, I want to talk a bit about what holds so many smart and talented women back from delegating well, how this is holding you back and the truth about what can happen when you turn this around.

Let's dive in…

Why we don't delegate (or delegate enough)

I want to acknowledge another truth before I start blaming you for not delegating (which of course, I never would because I get it!):

Women are held to a higher standard. Period.

That means we face greater scrutiny and need to prove ourselves to a greater extent. It also means you've probably adopted some perfectionist and workaholic habits as you've progressed along your leadership journey.

That's not your fault. But it's probably not helping you either.

When it comes to delegation, this is the impact:

  • You can't let go, because you need the work product to be perfect
  • You're overloaded, so you won't take the time to train someone else
  • You're in constant fight or flight, and are unable to slow down and see what really matters

Sound familiar?

How this is holding you back

This inability to hand over the reins is bad for you and bad for your team.

Let's start with you.

Doing everything yourself or triple-checking everyone's work is keeping you overwhelmed and overloaded. As you become more senior, there is simply no longer time to do all of this and do it well.

As a result, you're probably skipping lunch and catching up in the evenings.

You don't have the time and space to carve out regular deep work time, which is critical for the strategic thinking required at senior levels.

But it gets worse….

You're also sending your leadership team the message that you're already overloaded and don't know how to scale. You're unintentionally creating the perception that you aren't great at prioritizing what matters.

In a nutshell, you're telling them you aren't ready for the next level.

What about your team?

You may think you're doing your team a favour by making sure everything is perfect or banging out key tasks yourself. You're not.

If you're not delegating key priorities, you're robbing your team of the opportunity to level up and demonstrate their talents. You're creating a ceiling for them as well.

The truth about delegating well

What many of you don't realize is that you can delegate and not lose control. You can hand off tasks, free up the time for what really matters, and still ensure the work product is great.

The key is in how you do it.

And part of that means a mindset shift. You need to let go of some key lies:

  • “No one can do it as well as I can.”
  • “I don't have the time to train someone on this.”
  • “I shouldn't hand these crappy tasks off to my team.”

And start leaning into some new truths:

  • 80% perfect done by someone else is enough
  • Your team members may love the tasks you hate
  • Your value is in your strategic ideas and decisions, not the work you pump out

Once you can start to really believe this, you can work on prioritizing the things that really move the needle, and start handing off the things that don't.

And once you learn to delegate well, your reality will change!

You'll have the time and space to focus on the work that only you can do…

Your team will have a clear process to follow to ensure things are done and done well…

Your days will feel more spacious and less overwhelming….

And you'll be recognized as the valuable executive you are.

If this is an area you struggle with, I want to invite you to my brand new workshop—From Doer to Leader: The Executive Delegation System—happening Feb 16th.

In this workshop, we'll walk through the key lies we tell ourselves about delegation and the truth you need to hear. We'll get to the bottom of what's holding you back from taking this action, so you can challenge your mindset blocks and start doing what's going to move the needle.

But maybe most importantly, we'll go through how to prioritize the things you should keep vs what you should hand off in a way that makes it obvious, and then I'll share my framework for delegating in a way that actually works for both you and your team.

You'll walk away with:

  • Clarity into what's holding YOU back from delegating effectively (and why mastering this matters for your promotion)
  • My task audit framework and your personal delegation action plan (created during the workshop)
  • My proven 3-step framework to delegate successfully without micromanaging or sacrificing quality

The cost of this workshop is just $27! Want in? Grab your spot here.

PS. Last week, I mentioned the Women's Executive Mastermind for women at the VP and C-level. I'll be sharing more details in the coming weeks.

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy