When a leader says they are struggling with their work load the first thing we look at is how they’re approaching delegation. Inevitably, we discover that they are avoiding true delegation all together or simply not understanding how to start delegating.

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When we dig deeper, I find there are three core reasons this is happening. First on the list is the leader not transitioning from a subject matter expert on the frontline to a manager who gets work done through others. The second reason is managers that harbor guilt for giving work to others. They know everyone is busy and it just feels wrong to pile more on someone’s plate. The third is the less obvious. This person is actually delegating tasks but not delegating any level of ownership to their staff, leaving the leader heavily involved in the day to day.

The good news is, there are a few simple steps listed below that will help any leader avoid making the above three mistakes.

First build a partnership with your staff. The first thing I do when someone starts reporting to me is find out what their goals, interests and motivations are. I want us both to develop the foundation of two people doing business together. After all, if I’m asking for high levels of engagement, I should see where I can align their work to high levels of growth and development. That goes beyond a new title or promotion. I’m looking to find opportunities for their interests and goals to line up with the work I’m bringing to the table.

Make sure you and your team are aligned with the bigger picture. Part of the reason delegation gets tricky is that managers focus on the task at hand but haven’t made clear what the organization is up to and how that aligns with the function and team. The more the team gets to openly discuss how the direction of the business could be impacted by their team, the clearer they are on priorities. This also helps the team be empowered to help carve out the future of the business. Work is less about what rolls down the hill and more about how to make a bigger goal a reality. That makes all tasks and initiatives important and worthy of taking on.

Plan for making yourself obsolete. At one point in my career I was planning to go out on my own into the wild world of consulting. This also gave me quite a runway before leaving my current job. I ended up having close to a year between me deciding to leave and actually leave. So as I considered what I’d need to do to prepare my team for running without me, I started to realize just how much I should have been delegating all along.

I dare you to imagine a year from now. You have moved on to a new amazing position and they will not be able to backfill you for a long time. What would you do today to set your team up for success? There are several things that should easily come to mind. Silence that fear that if you delegate so much that they won’t need you and you’ll be out of a job. The reality is, managers who can level up teams to new heights are always in demand and preparing themselves to be able to take on broader strategic roles.

Go beyond delegating tasks to delegating ownership. Look for delegating key responsibilities and decisions. Start by getting people exposed to meetings you usually run, key decisions you make on a regular basis and administrative responsibilities like managing and planning for budget. The more a person starts to take on ownership for work the more their levels of commitment and creativity will increase.

Discuss and plan for the right level of ownership. Collaborate with staff to determine what level of ownership they can take from the beginning and what level they will work towards. Getting clear on whether it’s going to be a training phase first and then on an update basis as needed, or somewhere in between prevents the micro-managing tap dance that managers and employees tend to get tangled in.

Review what development is needed to ensure their success. I like to discuss what hills we both foresee the person needing to tackle while taking on the work. From there, we review what skills they already bring to the table and what may need developing to help overcome those hills. Finally, we discuss what their willingness is to take certain risks like sharing their viewpoint or making final decisions that will help them push through or over the hills we listed.

When leaders use delegation as a collaborative planning tool for their staff’s development in alignment with the goals of the business, it ends up being an enriching experience for all involved.