Why Leaders Don't Delegate and Its Cost

Tom Riggs is passionate about helping organizations unlock the power of people, leaders, and teams. With over 25 years of experience spanning HR, Operations, and Marketing, Tom’s unconventional career path from SVP of HR to COO and entrepreneurial CEO has given him a unique perspective on driving performance. Now, as CEO of MindWire, an Elite Predictive Index Certified Partner, Tom uses his straightforward and compassionate approach to bring data-driven talent solutions to leaders of all industries.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Let go. Your prior abilities may have gotten promoted to the leadership ranks, but if you keep doing them, they will hold you back. You’ve got to learn to delegate properly.
2. Make time. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you don’t have time to delegate. Tom’s research indicates that leaders can actually get several hours back each week once they learn to delegate.
3. Step up. After you’ve freed up your precious time, two things can happen. First, you can grow your team through the items you’ve delegated. Second, you now have space to do the next-level things only you can do.

From Our Sponsor

The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com.

From the Source

“ That's the fastest, most effective way to develop any person in your organization. Not just delegate tasks, but delegating real authority to people.”

“ It's terrible, not just for the leaders, but for the people they're not delegating to for certain.”

“ Some of the nature of the most important leadership skills are a bit nebulous. You can't check the box that you for sure won or lost today. It's kind of, ‘I got to move the ball down the field a little bit at a time.’ And so that lack of that tangible ‘I won’ also works against people in leadership who are generally in leadership because they like achieving and they like succeeding. They're not slowing down to say, ‘Wait a second…what's the consequence of me not doing this?’”

“ We use PI data with people to help them better understand themselves as a delegator.”

“ Our philosophy with leaders is ‘all oars in the water’, meaning you should have a delegation plan for every direct report.”

“A lot of times, leaders don't actually know ‘What is it I'm supposed to deliver and be good at in this role?’ That's a critical piece to understand because then it tells you ‘How do I need to gas pedal my strengths and know where I have to adjust on my gaps?”

Connect with Tom

Delegation Mastery (resource): https://mindwiregroup.com/delegation-mastery/

Website: https://www.mindwiregroup.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomriggs