"Early on, whenever I was in a leadership position, I struggled with letting go of the work and delegating. One mentor of mine one day gave me a talk that changed everything for me. They asked me why I kept jumping in and trying to do all the work myself, as opposed to carefully delegating those tasks. I replied that I had trouble trusting that they'd do the job as well as I did. They asked me why I thought that, and I struggled with communicating my answer. After hearing me out, they mirrored me and summarized by saying it sounds like I'm having trouble communicating what I need to get done in a way that would effectively ensure it's done according to my standard. That took me off guard and I thought about it and realized they were right. So I started working on my communication skills and started letting go of the work. I didn't need to trust anyone but myself to communicate what needed to get done when I delegated tasks. That helped me significantly in my career, and it's a lesson I'll never forget."
