Episode 4: Delegate to Elevate

In this episode of The Third Option of Leadership Podcast, Bobby McGraw sits down with Dean Harbry and Janalee Rainwater to unpack one of the most difficult—and most defining—shifts in a leader’s journey: the move from doing the work to developing the people who do the work.

Drawing from the Middle Way Institute’s leadership lifecycle and the core principles of “leadership as a profession,” the team explores why so many managers feel overwhelmed, burned out, and stuck. The reason? They’ve been promoted but haven’t made the mindset shift required to lead.

Listeners will learn how to:

• See delegation as a developmental tool, not a dumping ground.

• Use managerial questioning to push thinking down the ladder.

• Redefine success as building the capacity of others rather than doing more yourself.

• Apply practical frameworks like the Freedom Scale to build judgment, independence, and confidence in their teams.

• Take the first “baby steps” toward multiplying their leadership rather than bottlenecking it.

This episode gives leaders permission to let go of the myth that “I must do everything myself” and embrace a professional mindset that says, “My success is measured by who I develop—not what I personally accomplish.”