Do you want one secret for growing your career?

Learn The Delegation Rule

It’s tough enough for some of us to think of ourselves as ‘delegators.’ For some of us it’s perfectionism, and we have a hard time thinking someone else can do something as well as we can; for some it’s relationship skills…we don’t know how to discuss things that are uncomfortable, such as suggesting how to improve performance.

Harder still, though, is remembering that as we are working for someone else, we become valuable to them when we help them delegate to us. They might equally have difficulty in being a good delegator. In fact, the more difficulty they have, the more they will appreciate you making it easier for them to do so.

A phrase I like to help remember this is “Push up, pull up.” Want a promotion? Help your boss get a promotion. Want to get a promotion while avoiding just doubling up your workload? Help one of your employees or peers prepare to step into your role.

Want the best part of “Push up, pull up?” In so doing, you are pro-acting. You are being a leader. And leaders win.