I once entered a manufacturing firm where everything seemed stuck. The CEO’s desk was a traffic jam. Managers queued with forms for his signature, procurements, leave requests, and even the replacement of a cleaner. On paper, it looked like discipline. In reality, it was paralysis. Managers stopped leading. Staff stopped thinking. Execution was no longer a rhythm of ideas. It had become a ritual of approvals.
This is the disease of top-down micromanagement. Leaders mistake control for accountability. I have seen it in hospitals where every procurement waited for the board chair, and in banks where even small loans had to reach the CEO’s desk. Projects stalled, clients left, and staff morale sank. The leader thought he was tightening discipline. In fact, he was strangling execution.
Think of a ship’s captain who insists on rowing every oar himself. The boat may move, but slowly, and the crew becomes passengers. A leader who hoards decisions creates the same effect. What should be a team-driven voyage becomes a one-man struggle.
The leadership challenge is trust. Do you trust your managers enough to let them own decisions, or do you reduce them to runners at your desk? Accountability is not about approving every step. It is about setting direction and demanding results.
Delegation is not about dumping work. It is about multiplying leadership. When leaders make every decision, they shrink the organisation to their own capacity. When they delegate well, they create an army of leaders who deliver results. That is why I created what I call Mr Strategy’s delegation ladder.
The ladder (Table 7) forces you to see where you are holding on too tightly and teaches you to release decisions with clarity, not recklessness. I have used it with executives in manufacturing, banks, hospitals, and universities. Every time, the outcome is the same: faster execution, more engaged managers, and leaders who stop firefighting and start steering.
Delegation is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger your organisation becomes. Leaders who climb this ladder free themselves to focus on strategy, while their managers grow into leaders.
Mr Strategy
