Here's how you can achieve a balance between control and delegation as a Product Marketer.

To strike the right balance between control and delegation, it's crucial to establish a solid foundation of trust within the team. This entails relying on the skills and judgment of team members to effectively carry out their tasks. Providing guidance and support when delegating responsibilities is essential, as well as allowing team members to make independent decisions. An effective methodology for building this trust is to utilize Covey's trust management model, which is based on credibility and clarity. This involves clearly communicating expectations and objectives, providing resources and support, and allowing autonomy whenever possible.

As a team leader I would say that the best method to give trust is to train your sales people with real case experiences and after that, you join with them in some real sales meetings with customers. You give them trust and after the sales meeting you evaluate with them what went well or where some fine tuning was needed. In this personal relationship you build trust with them.

The very first step is something I had to learn, and that was to delegate. Once I learned to delegate, I gained more than time. I gained the knowledge that I was either upscaling a colleague, learning new ways of approaching a task, and ready to let go. Letting go is something that is particularly hard in a startup where you are your product, but may be one of the most important things you must learn to do.

Achieving a balance between control and delegation begins with building trust. Trust your team members to handle their responsibilities effectively. This involves selecting the right people for the right tasks and believing in their capabilities. In my experience, establishing trust lays the foundation for successful delegation, as it empowers your team to take ownership of their work and make decisions confidently.

Start by clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and expectations to empower autonomy within set boundaries. Foster an environment of trust by providing necessary training, resources, and support. Maintain open communication channels for collaboration and guidance when needed. Focus your control on high-stakes decisions and strategic oversight, while delegating tactical execution to capable team members. Celebrate wins collectively and approach setbacks as learning opportunities, not failures. By striking the right equilibrium, you'll unlock your team's full potential, drive productivity, and exemplify true leadership in product marketing.

When delegating, providing clear objectives and context for the tasks is essential. Ensuring team members understand the purpose, desired outcomes, and alignment with overall business goals. In graduate school, I studied some of Harvard Business School Professor Kevin Sharer's emphasis on the importance of clarity in delegation; I highly recommend reading some of his views.

Set clear objectives and expectations for your team. When delegating tasks, ensure that everyone understands the goals, deadlines, and desired outcomes. Provide detailed guidelines and necessary resources to help them succeed. I’ve found that clarity in objectives prevents misunderstandings and ensures that the team stays aligned with the overall strategy, maintaining a sense of control while enabling effective delegation.

When you build the right plan jointly with your direct reports and key stakeholders within the organization, it is easier to set goals that your team will be able to execute by themselves, also make sure you guide them and provide the right tools.

Empower your teams by giving them the autonomy to make decisions within their areas of responsibility. Encourage innovation and creativity, and provide support when needed. In my experience, empowering team members fosters a sense of ownership and accountability, leading to higher motivation and better performance. This approach allows you to delegate effectively while maintaining oversight on key aspects.

Establish a robust feedback loop to monitor progress and provide constructive feedback. Regular check-ins and reviews help you stay informed about the status of delegated tasks and address any issues promptly. I’ve found that a continuous feedback loop ensures that you can guide your team without micromanaging, striking a balance between control and delegation. It also helps in identifying areas for improvement and celebrating successes.

Analyze the results of delegated tasks to assess their effectiveness and impact. Use data and metrics to evaluate performance and outcomes. In my experience, a thorough analysis provides insights into what worked well and what needs adjustment, helping you refine your delegation strategies. By focusing on results, you maintain control over the overall direction while giving your team the freedom to execute their tasks.

As a product marketer, flexibility is key. While it is essential to learn not to get attached to your work and delegate, sometimes, given the ever-changing landscape, it is good to retain the ability to get down to the trenches and get one's hands dirty. The best part about this is that it keeps one grounded while helping them learn something new—this can be fuelled back into how one delegates tasks to the product marketing team in the future, making them resilient and responsive.

Maintain flexibility in your approach to control and delegation. Be willing to adjust your level of involvement based on the complexity of tasks and the capabilities of your team. Recognize when to step in for additional support and when to step back to allow independent work. In my experience, flexibility ensures that you can adapt to different situations, maintaining a healthy balance between guiding your team and granting them the autonomy they need to thrive.

To whom we can delegate? In multinational corporations, one of the most powerful delegation (and coordination) opportunities is between the global, regional and local product marketing teams. Unfortunately, it is often underused. The teams downstream cannot be just the receptors of the top-down push of tasks and content. Normally the global product managers have narrow but deep responsibility. The local guys have broader portfolio responsibilities and have to destile content to match it with the local market. If uncoordinated, the local team will get saturated with excess of activity deployed to them and the global team will get frustrated by seeing their deep approach ignored. Coordinate these layers and benefit from their synergy!