Delegation is one of the most powerful tools in a leader’s arsenal. Yet, it is often underutilized or misunderstood. Leaders who master delegation not only free up their time to focus on strategic priorities but also empower their teams to grow, learn, and thrive. When done effectively, delegation enhances productivity, fosters trust, and ensures that responsibilities are shared across the organization.
Why you need to delegate
The short answer: because you can be more successful by doing so. A 2014 Gallup survey found that CEOs who delegate generated 33% greater revenue than those who do not delegate. While you can get some stuff done on your own, you can only get a lot done if you share the burden. As author John C. Maxwell said “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.”
Why do we struggle to delegate?
Many leaders struggle to delegate due to common misconceptions and fears:
- Time: Training someone to complete a task takes time and some leaders believe it’s faster to do it themselves. They may also believe that others are too busy to take on more work and therefore feel obligated to carry out the task themselves.
- Control: Leaders may feel that no one can perform the task as well as they can. We find a common issue is a leader’s belief that “they won’t do it the way I’ve always done it.”
- Fear: Some leaders worry that delegating tasks will lead to mistakes or missed deadlines. They fear looking bad or making a customer unhappy if they don’t do the work themselves.
- Uncertainty: Leaders may have a lack of confidence in their ability to explain what they want done. They may also be worried that their team doesn’t have the skillset to do the task they want to delegate.
Overcoming these barriers requires a mindset shift. Instead of thinking about how things can go wrong, flip those negative scenarios on their head and think about what can go right!
Delegating effectively
Our delegation tool of choice is the Eisenhower Matrix or the Urgent-Important Matrix. It’s well-known, easy to use way to determine what you should do versus delegate. Essentially, you categorize tasks into one of four categories: Do, Decide, Delegate, or Delete. You do the tasks that must be done now and impact the company’s long-term goals. You decide task that are important, but can’t be done now. You delete tasks that are not important or time-sensitive. Finally, you delegate tasks that need to be done now, but are not something that will affect long-term goals. Of course if there are things that you are uniquely capable of doing and have a high impact in the organization, those are not things you should delegate at all!
Once you’ve landed on the tasks that you should delegate, use something like a skill/will matrix (Hersey & Blanchard, 1977) to determine WHO you should delegate to. Next, clearly define the goals for the person you are delegating to, ensuring they understand the relevant context, and give them the resources they will need. As they work on the task, make sure you follow up – don’t micromanage them!– but ensure you can help them solve any roadblocks and get ahead of any issues. After the task is complete, give them specific feedback on what they did well and where they can improve the next time.
Conclusion
Delegation is not about doing less—it’s about achieving more by empowering others. Great leaders understand that success is not measured by what they achieve alone but by what they enable their teams to accomplish together.
Sources:
- Covey, S. (1989). The 7 habits of highly effective people.
- Gallup (2014). https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/182414/delegating-huge-management-challenge-entrepreneurs.aspx
- Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1977). Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources (3rd ed.) New Jersey/Prentice Hall, ISBN 978-0132617697
