Overcoming Barriers to Team Success as Women Leaders
|
Hello Reader, I see the women leaders I’ve coached struggle when trying to delegate something new to their teams, like leading a project meeting or managing client communications. It can hinder the potential for their team success. This struggle is completely normal, especially when delegating new responsibilities, and many leaders face similar challenges. I know I certainly have had to work through issues of trust and letting go. There’s often such a fear of failure or of team members making mistakes that the leader doesn’t let go of control. However, the only way for our teams to grow is to allow them to fail and support them along the way. For example, offering constructive feedback after a mistake, providing resources for improvement, and celebrating small wins can make a big difference. A client of mine had a new manager on her team who kept stepping in and doing the individual contributor work that his team should be doing. He thought he could do it faster or better and feared the team would miss something. Instead of improving things, this made the overall team’s performance worse and left him more stressed out. I encouraged her to tell him to try a time-boxed experiment where he wasn’t allowed to do the work for the team and see what happens. In return, she gave him space to fail by telling him not to worry about the team’s performance during that time. By reducing the pressure on performance for the short term, he created space for his team to make mistakes and learn. This ultimately led to higher long-term performance. The only way for us to create space for ourselves to lead more strategically and have a bigger impact is by learning how to delegate effectively. So while it can feel scary, it’s a crucial skill to learn. Where are you resisting delegating because of fear of letting go? Reply and let me know—I’d love to help you brainstorm solutions! Cheering you on, Here’s how I can help…Whether you’re looking for guidance, support, or just a bit of inspiration, here’s how we can connect:
|