Matriarchal Delegation
In the future, collaboration is beautiful.
Interdependence and mutuality are celebrated.
We are eager to ask for support because we love giving others the opportunity to contribute their brilliance toward our shared goals.
We know that our collaboration creates something more valuable than what any one of us can do alone, and it’s beautiful.
But you probably don’t work in the future.
Today, delegation can be so fraught, especially for underestimated leaders. We are taught that we need to be authoritative without sacrificing likability with no actual guidance on how. For most of us this is an impossible dance that leads to some awful combination of negligence, micromanaging, and passive-aggression. Too often we just don’t, even while recognizing that it might limit our opportunities.
Conventional delegation is about hierarchy and control. No wonder we don’t choose to be good at it!
In contrast, Matriarchal Delegation asks us to reconsider our understanding of power, and focus on clarity in communication and alignment on shared goals.
To help you get comfortable with the practice, I’ve created a five-step process for asking someone to do something, and for delivering what you’ve been asked to do, so that everyone involved knows what’s expected, feels respected, and can trust what happens next.
This course is a good fit if you’re:
- A founder or leader who knows that healthy collaboration is essential for business growth and thriving teams
- Someone who doesn’t want to reproduce patriarchal conventions in your collaborations with others
- Curious about how matriarchal values can inform business practice
Do not expect:
- A management course. We won’t cover hiring, firing, or performance reviews.
- A productivity system. You’ll probably get more done, but that’s a side effect, not the point.
- A course on delegating to yourself. To-do lists, time blocking, and getting your own stuff done are a whole different thing.
- Coaching. This is on-demand and self-paced. You bring the real situations; the course gives you the structure.
Your instructor:
Lindsay LaShell has been delegating in a professional capacity since she was 18. As a student and professional stage manager, she fell in love with the wonderful, wacky, unparalleled experience of committed collaboration. Since then, she’s honed her delegation skills everywhere from nonprofit boards to 4th grade classrooms. Matriarchal Delegation is the result of having developed and tested this practice with her own employees, clients, and family members.
Here’s what some of her employees had to say about her delegation style:
“Her trust in her team to do good work and the structures she has in place for organization and feedback.”
“Lindsay is really good about being clear and up front about what she needs from us both with tasks and with the bigger picture stuff.”
“She is not a leader leading everyone. She is a leader leading WITH everyone, and her team can feel that.”
For best results, you’ll need:
- 2.5-3 hours, on your own timeline
- A journal or notes doc for the assignments
- Real delegation situations, either things you need to hand off soon or some recent examples that went sideways
- One human who’s willing to practice with you in Module 4. A colleague, contractor, friend, or partner all work.
- Willingness to look honestly at your own habits. Most delegation problems start before the ask is made.
For humans on both sides of the delegation conversation, this course provides a new framework for thinking about how and why we collaborate, as well as simple tools for doing it better.
It is thoughtfully inclusive and works especially well for teams that are diverse, hybrid, remote, or include neurodivergent folks.
What you’ll get:
- Freedom from following up, checking in, and missed deadlines
- Videos and reading, describing a super simple five-step process
- Clarity on the roles of Asker and Doer, and what their different responsibilities are
- Deep-dive reflection questions to help you connect your experience to the material
- New ways of thinking about collaboration, power, and communication with others.
- Practical tools like roleplaying and checklists to help you practice
- Troubleshooting guide when things don’t work as planned
- Support from Lindsay and other course participants in Discourse
After you purchase, you’ll be given access to the curriculum, as well as our MBA for the Matriarchy Discourse community where you will be able to connect with others, share and receive support, and support your learning.
Haven’t started yet? You can get a full refund within 180 days. Starting means opening any page after Start here. To request one, email courses@mbaforthematriarchy.com. Full details are in the terms.