I recently completed a bank of coaching calls with some managers and senior managers and wanted to pass on to you some of what we discussed. Like them, your job is twofold.

Remember Who You Work For

First, remember who you’re working for. With lots to do and a compressed time to complete it, your team may think that they are working for a you, a deadline, a budget or a regulatory agency. After all, that’s where all the pressure is coming from. Remind them that they are working for clients to solve their problems.

Whatever you do, don’t allow your team to have the goal to just “get it done and out the door.” They will miss too much, lose their motivation and produce results that are below their capability. As important as “on time, on budget and accurate” are, what really matters is reminding them for whom they are working. And it’s not you!

Delegate As Much As You Can

Second, delegate as much as you can. Resist the temptation to swim in the shallow end of the pool. You belong in the deep end, providing high value. Every time you cross the rope where the less-experienced are learning to swim, you may think you are special because you can swim faster and with ease. When you push them out of the way and swim for them, you aren’t helping.

While it’s true that you no longer need swimmies, your time in the shallow end means you aren’t producing value in the deep end where you belong. Instead, every time you pick something up, ask yourself, “who else could do this?” Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.  Let the up-and-comers learn to swim by doing what is theirs to do and you get back to the deep end.

So your job is twofold: to inspire your team to give their best efforts to serve clients and to delegate the work that belongs in the shallow end to them. You’ll find that everyone will do better in the season of opportunity.