“I’m Afraid To Delegate.”

We (many or most people) delegate every day of our lives. We just don’t realise it at times.

Takeout food, coffee, laundry, house cleaning, driving (Uber), pulling beers, mixing drinks, making sandwiches, pizza delivery or ordering food at a restaurant.

Anything where we interact with another person and give a direct command or request to them is a form of delegation.

Is it fear of the person you have delegated to matching your ((impossibly) high) standard?

Or is it fear they won’t do it the way you would have? Their way may be better.

Or is it fear they will do a better job than you?

Is it fear that you aren’t paying enough to have the job done to an adequate standard?

Is it fear that your standard is too high? You don’t need to land a man on the moon on the first try when all you want is a custom made pizza.

I have found most people have difficulty with delegating, not because they are afraid of the results that are produced, but because of the result that the person doing the delegating may become unnecessary.

Maybe the other person really is better than you, how would that make you feel?

The other problem people have with delegating is they don’t know how to give praise and they don’t know how to fix a problem when something goes wrong. We bark our command of what we want and hope for the best.

Delegation isn’t about telling someone what you want and hoping for the best.

Delegation isn’t about micro-managing.

Delegation is, quite simply, stating a request the other person can fulfil within their skill set and resources, and then getting and giving feedback at each step of the task you have delegated.

Subway sandwiches, whatever you may think of them, are a microcosm of delegation in action. Try ordering a sandwich at Subway without being part of the process – the system isn’t built to work that way.