Don’t Wait for Permission: Asking Clearly and Delegating Intentionally as a Retail Leader
“Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” — Maya Angelou
As a leader, part of your job is knowing when to raise your hand, speak up, and make the request that opens the door. You won’t always get exactly what you hope for, but you will never get it if you don’t ask.
I almost didn’t capture this idea because I know it’s not something I naturally do well. How could I write about a skill that’s still a personal opportunity for me? I struggle at times to be direct with requests. I can be clear and to the point, explaining what I need and going straight to the person who can make it happen. I’m usually more comfortable doing that with the people I work closest with. Still, there are moments when the request might be seen as challenging, unpopular, or inconvenient, when it asks someone to adjust a routine or prioritize my need over theirs. Those are the times when finding the right words feels harder.
I miss 100% of the shots I don’t take — Wayne Gretzky
Most of us don’t want to upset, offend, or inconvenience others, even when it’s unintentional. We lean on relationships, seek comfort, and ease into the ask. We may even try to position it so it seems like their idea. That softens the message but also weakens the urgency and impact of what we really need to happen. Asking clearly and confidently isn’t about being demanding, it’s about being effective. And as leaders, we can’t afford to sit back and hope people know what we need. We have to ask.
If you want to lead with impact, you can’t rely on hinting or hoping. You must ask. And asking well is more than making a request, it’s part of how you delegate, how you influence, how you lead through others.
Make the ask count
Here are a few principles to guide you:
Be clear on the outcome. What do you want them to do? What results matter? If you don’t ask for a specific outcome, you’ll likely settle for something midway.
Frame your request respectfully. You are asking, not ordering. You are inviting ownership, not imposing burden.
Link your ask to shared purpose. “We are building this together” lands better than “I need you to fix this.”
Avoid load-bearing setup. A long preamble or an apology dilutes the moment. Declare your ask, then allow space for discussion.
Accept that “no” is an answer—but not the end. If the answer is no, explore why and what can be done differently. Closing the loop matters.
Asking and delegating go hand in hand
Delegation is often cast as “giving tasks away,” but in modern leadership it is far more. It is about influence, trust and multiplying your impact. My article, A Leader's Guide to Effective Delegation, states: effective delegation means you get things done through others, and in the process you develop them.
When you ask for help or propose a task to someone on your team, you are delegating. Your ask becomes their assignment. That means your request must not only be clear, it must be crafted to enable action. If you ask for “support” you leave ambiguity. If you ask, “Would you lead the visual-merchandising roll-out by Friday, and update me on progress each morning?” you have delegated with clarity and accountability.
Notice the difference between a question and a statement:
"I need you to handle this" creates resistance "Would you be willing to handle this?" creates partnership
Keep it simple. One clear question. "Would you be willing to take the lead on this project?" "Can we move this deadline to give the team more time?" "Would you consider reallocating these resources?" By combining asking and delegating, you free yourself to focus on higher-level leadership work like strategy, culture, future growth. You set your team up to grow rather than to simply execute.
The leadership trap: Trying to do it all
One of the biggest barriers to asking and delegating is believing you must do everything. Over time, that becomes unsustainable. In The Top 5 Excuses Leaders Use to Avoid Delegation (And How to Overcome Them) I cover how to work around the excuses leaders use to avoid delegation points out that leaders who hold everything in become bottlenecks.
If you want more from your leadership and more for your team, you must shift your perspective:
Your role is not doing the work—your role is enabling the work.
Asking is influencing.
Delegating is developing.
Ask and find success A leader's success is based on the culture of asking and empowering they build. When you step into the moment, clearly articulate the need, respectfully invite someone to help, and then step back so they can step up, you create momentum, build trust, and scale what you do. You can’t do it all on your own. But when you ask well and delegate intentionally, you unlock more than you ever could solo.
Take the shot.
What steps will you take to ask for more of what you need?
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