Find Yourself On This List
Updated: 2 days ago
Delegation, and the twelve things that actually get in the way
You already know you should delegate more. Nobody needs another article telling you that.
What is less obvious is which particular thing is stopping you - because there are at least twelve, they look nothing like each other, and the fix for one is useless for another.
So this is a list. Read it, find your line, and skip the rest.
What It Is
And three things it is not
Delegation is handing over a piece of work along with the authority to make decisions about it.
That second half is the part that gets left out. Give someone a task without the authority and you have not delegated - you have added a step to your own process.
It is also none of these:
Dumping. The work goes, the context does not.
Abdicating. The work goes, and so do you.
Asking for help. You still own it. They are assisting.
All three are common, all three feel like delegating from the inside, and all three teach your team something you did not intend.
Find Yourself
Twelve reasons, three kinds
Read these as if someone said them out loud. One of them will sound like you.
It is about the work
"It is quicker if I just do it." True today. Compounding against you every week you repeat it.
"By the time I have explained it, I could have finished it." Also true. Explaining it once costs more than doing it once, and less than doing it forty times.
"This one is too important to risk." Sometimes right. Worth checking how many things end up in this category.
"The client expects me." Often assumed rather than tested. Some clients have never been asked.
It is about the people
"I have nobody to give it to." A resourcing problem, not a mindset one. It needs a conversation with whoever controls headcount.
"They are already at capacity." Sometimes true. Sometimes a way of protecting them from growth.
"They are not ready yet." Often accurate - and usually missing a plan for how they would get ready.
"It comes back and I have to redo it anyway." The most common one. Usually means the standard was never said out loud.
It is about you
"I am faster at this than anyone, and I like being faster." The honest one. Rarely said aloud.
"If I am not doing the work, what am I actually for?" The real question underneath a lot of the others.
"I do not want to look like I am offloading." Kindness that costs your team the chance to stretch.
"I would have to have a conversation I have been avoiding." Not a delegation problem at all. A different one, wearing this costume.
Three of those need more resource. Three need a plan. Six need a conversation. Only you know which line was yours.
The Handover
Five ways it goes wrong
Even when you do let go, this is usually where it comes apart.
You gave the task but not the reason, so they optimised for the wrong thing.
You described the output but not the standard, because the standard lives in your head as instinct.
You said "let me know if you need anything" instead of naming a checkpoint, so nothing was checked until it was late.
You took it back the first time it wobbled, which told them not to bother next time.
You never closed the loop, so nobody learned anything and you will do this again next quarter.
What Helps
Six things to try this week
Start with one thing. Not the list. One task, chosen because handing it over would free up your thinking.
Say why before what. Two sentences on why this matters and what it connects to. It changes every decision they make afterwards.
Say what good looks like. Out loud, in advance. If you cannot describe it, write down the two or three things you always check before you put your name on something. That is your standard.
Fix the boundaries, free the rest. "These two things are non-negotiable. Everything else is yours." Most people are given the reverse.
Book the checkpoint at handover. Not when you start worrying. Agreeing it upfront is a sign you are both serious, not that you are watching.
When it comes back imperfect, ask before you fix. Was the standard unclear, is the skill not there yet, or did they simply do it differently to you? Three different problems. Three different conversations.
One Question
The one worth sitting with
Go back to the list.
Which line was yours - and is that the real one, or the one that is easiest to admit?
Most leaders can name their line in about four seconds. The useful work starts with the second question.
A gentle invitation
You are very welcome to get in touch.
I work with senior leaders and founders navigating transition, complexity, and moments where what worked before no longer feels like enough.
Book a discovery conversation - no agenda, just space to think.
Worth reading: Jesse Sostrin's short Harvard Business Review piece on delegation, which is honest about the identity shift involved. Liz Wiseman, Multipliers, on leaders who amplify the people around them rather than absorb the work. Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, on why the behaviours that earned you the role rarely sustain it.
Comments