Delegation is an essential management skill, so why do so many leaders struggle with it?
Leaders often have a love-hate relationship with delegating. Even when they intuitively understand that it comes with the territory…that it’s essential to get work done…that it’s an important tool for developing the people they lead…they still struggle with doing it at all, let alone doing it well.
Why? Common reasons to avoid delegating include:
- Lack of clarity/direction/guidance on the project from their supervisor
- Loss of control
- Not enough time for mentoring
- Not enough team capability
- Scared the project will fail if someone else does it
- Lack of trust in people delegating to
- Fear of conflict, pushback, or a negative impact on the relationship
- Fear that someone else might do it better, and that will cause embarrassment
- Fear that someone else will do it differently (“my way is the only ‘right’ way”)
- Wanting to hang onto certain tasks to keep busy in a comfort zone
Given that long list, it’s not surprising that delegation is something many leaders avoid. Misconception around what delegation is and isn’t also contributes to the hesitation.
| Delegation is: | Delegation is not: | |
| Assigning authority and responsibility to another person to complete specific activities or tasks. | ⇒ | Giving up overall responsibility or accountability for the success of specific activities or tasks. |
| Hands-on; continuing to manage important, high-consequence details. | ⇒ | Micromanaging; paying unnecessary attention to unimportant details. |
Wait…You’re saying I’m still responsible and accountable, even though it’s someone else’s job to do?
Yes! Continuing to “own” the work you delegate is a must. But that ownership shouldn’t make you fear delegation.
In fact, what if you reframed that entire list of “reasons not to delegate”? Once you understand why you aren’t delegating, you can reframe your mindset and actually embrace delegation as the essential leadership skill it is.
Instead of hesitating due to: Lack of clarity from supervisor | Reframe it as a What if?: What if you asked your supervisor for task, condition, and standard so that you were clear and could own the task? |
| Loss of control | What if you managed the person, the project, and the process differently? |
| Not enough time for mentoring | What if you made mentoring a priority? What little piece could you delegate and mentor someone through? |
| Not enough team capability | What if delegating a task created a learning opportunity for your team so they could become more capable? |
| Scared the project will fail if someone else does it | What if you delegated responsibility and authority fortasks, but not for the overall success of the project? If you are managing the person, the project, and the process, then you should be able to ensure success. |
| Lack of trust in people delegating to | What if you found things to delegate to build trust? What could you delegate to prove competency to the person and to you? |
Fear of conflict, pushback, or a negative impact onthe relationship | What if you saw effective delegation as a critical part of your management responsibility? |
Fear that someone else might do it better, and that will cause embarrassment | What if you weren’t threatened by your team’s success, instead you took pride in their achievements and growth? |
Fear that someone else will do it differently (“my way is the only ‘right’ way”) | What if they did it a different way, but still got the job done? (And, what if “their way” led to new insights or a better/cheaper/faster breakthrough?) |
| Wanting to hang onto certain tasks to keep busy in a comfort zone | What if you chose to do more important tasks that would benefit the company? |
Delegation takes work, but it’s necessary for success and growth in business.
So much more goes into effective delegation than simply assigning tasks. Assessing your team to know who to delegate to, setting clear parameters, communicating necessary information, not micromanaging but knowing when to intervene…these are all factors. Above all, realizing that delegating doesn’t mean giving up ownership is key.
Next time, we’ll start to look at a process to help you delegate effectively—without fear and with great results.
