The Top Leadership Skills for 2025: Part 1 – Delegation

Today I’m launching a 4-part series on the four most requested training topics for leaders in 2025.

Each of these training programs addresses a key challenge that leaders have struggled with this year.

Today, I’ll start with Workshop 1: How to Delegate to Develop Your Team.

The Problem: Why Leaders Struggle with Delegation

Why is this program the most requested topic this year?

Well, most leaders have never been taught how to develop their people; rather, they’ve been taught how to do the work.

So, when their plates get full, delegation feels risky or even counterproductive.

Do you ever find yourself thinking one of these thoughts when you know you should be delegating a task?

• “It’s easier if I just do it myself.”
• “My team isn’t ready yet.”
• “I can’t afford mistakes right now.”

Leaders tell me all the time that these three thoughts keep them overwhelmed and holding on to work that should be delegated.

Rather than delegating, do you sometimes stay buried in the weeds? Do you ever worry that your team is underdeveloped or not leveraging their full potential?

If this is the case, let me reassure you that it’s not your fault. You’ve likely never been taught to delegate and develop your team properly.  Most leaders haven’t, and this is the reason why this program was the most requested workshop this year.

The Solution: A Strategic Approach to Delegation

The first thing to understand is that delegation isn’t about just handing off tasks. Rather, it’s about building the capabilities and confidence on your team while freeing yourself to lead more strategically.

In my How to Delegate to Develop Your Team Workshop, I teach a Four-Step Delegation Process that will help you to:

• ✅ Identify what to delegate and to whom
• ✅ Clarify expectations and desired outcomes
• ✅ Provide the right level of direction and support
• ✅ Build trust through coaching and check-ins

When you delegate with purpose, you don’t just get more done, but you develop future leaders on your team.

Case Study: How Sonia Transformed Her Team Through Delegation

Let me share how one of my clients, Sonia, transformed her team after attending this program and applying the Four-Step Delegation Process.

You see, Sonia leads a busy communications team. She’s smart, driven and deeply committed to her organization. She is the kind of leader who always delivers impressive results.

The problem is that Sonia was overworked and exhausted all the time. When we mapped out her week, she realized that she was spending over 40% of her time on tasks that her team could handle and that she really needs to get off her plate.

When I asked why she wasn’t delegating more, she said:

“It’s just quicker if I do it myself.”

This is a very common mindset that holds leaders back from focusing on more strategic tasks.

Instead of Sonia staying stuck in overwhelm, she learned how to delegate.

We worked through the Four-Step Delegation Process. She quickly saw that one team member, Alex, was ready, but he just needed more clarity and trust. Sonia created a clear delegation plan, defined outcomes and set short check-in meetings to stay aligned.

A month later, she emailed me to say that not only did Alex deliver excellent work, but he also introduced a new process that the entire team adopted.

Delegating didn’t just free up some of Sonia’s time; it also built capability, confidence and innovation across her team.

Moving From Doing to Developing

When you learn to delegate with intention, you stop being a bottleneck and start building your talent. Delegation becomes both a development strategy and a time-saving tactic for you.

If you, or the leaders in your organization are ready to move from doing to developing, the How to Delegate to Develop Your Team workshop will help get everyone unstuck and focussed on the right tasks!  Wouldn’t this be great!?

👉 Contact me to bring this 2-hour program in-house and help you and the leaders in your organization to build confident, capable, high-performing teams.

Look out for next week’s blog. You’ll learn one of the other top skills that are critical for leaders to learn this year!