So often when I’m working with business owners, leaders and managers, they resists delegating (or even worse take things back), because they can do it faster.

For many, if not most things, it’s true – we can do it faster than the team member we are delegating to – but that doesn’t mean we should hold onto it.

I think largely we can have unrealistic expectations on our people – that they’ll think like us, act like us, work to our pace, or be ‘clones’ of us – and it think this sets us up for failure as leaders.

So whatever time something takes you– especially when you are first delegating it – double the time.

Remember this isn’t just about the task getting done, it’s also about:

• A learning and development opportunity for the team member involved, this extends them rather than keeping them small, it grow their role, their skills and their contribution;
• When we are learning, things take longer;
• You’re an expert – in EVERYTHING in your business – your team aren’t and you shouldn’t expect them to be;
• You’re the business owner or manager for a reason – you’re driven, highly productive, capable, adaptable and usually no fuss – you can’t expect your team to be;
• This buys back your time – it gifts you time to do the things that matter most, that move the needle, that fill you up and make your business better – don’t undersell the value of that.

So whatever time it takes you – double it!