The number of times I have encountered the “Apple Effect” are too numerous to count. What is the Apple Effect? It is the textbook example of when entrepreneur Steve Jobs started Apple Computer in his garage and grew to epic proportions. Jobs ran into trouble when the company reached a certain point and required a different leadership style to continue growing.

The entrepreneurial style of leadership is crucial for any new organization. It even is required to keep existing organizations current in their marketplace. However, when companies experience growth and attain certain success levels, the leadership of the organization must also change with the times.

The key change in transforming from an entrepreneurial organization to a growth organization is delegation. If we don’t start to delegate, then we will not have time to do the job we are paid for, which is to coach, manage and identify new processes that will support the organization’s future growth.

Delegation is important because it forces people to develop new skills that will qualify them to take on additional responsibilities, like your current position. Yes, a leader’s job is to groom people to take their position. This forces the leader to continue their development to stay ahead and opens the door for their ascension up the ladder. Then there is someone who can easily slide into their position without losing any quality.

The concept of delegation is also critical for sales executives who are looking to grow their territories and sales revenues. When you experience sales growth, sometimes you must delegate certain tasks in order to spend more time with customers. If you have administrative support, effective delegation involves teaching, coaching and holding people accountable. If you do not have an assistant, delegation can simply be the art of encouraging all parties that support you including internal and external resources. Here you must make it simple for them to understand what you need, how you expect it to be done and do whatever you can to help them succeed. After all, if they succeed, so do you.