How to stop doing everything yourself as a manager

Short answer: say “Let's walk through it once together, then it's yours.”

DON'T SAY
“Ugh, I'll just do it myself.”
SAY THIS
“Let's walk through it once together, then it's yours.”
Teaching it once frees you up for good.

When to use it

Use it when you catch yourself redoing a task because teaching it feels slower. Walk through it once together, then hand it over fully. It takes longer the first time and saves time every time after.

Example

You: “Let's walk through it once together, then it's yours.”

Teammate: “Sounds good. Can I shadow you on Thursday's run?”

In an email or Slack message

Write down the steps while you walk through it, and share the doc: “Here are the steps from today. Next week's run is yours. Ping me if you get stuck.”

Quick drill

When you want to support someone, especially a new or struggling team member.

Which sounds more confident?

Practice 10 more →

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25 phrases that make you sound confident at work

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