Five Reasons Why I Donât Delegate
Sometimes the best way to get something done is not to do it at all... by getting someone else to: delegation. Er, but isnât that just a euphemism for passing the buck? Well, not if youâre doing it right. Delegation should be a strategic tool to help you maximise your productivity by freeing you up to focus on your core responsibilities, not a get-out-of-work-free card. But before I even get to what delegation involves, I thought Iâd spend some time looking at what gets in the way of it happening. From personal experience, the answer is âmostly meâ. Here are my top five reasons for not delegating:
#1 âExplaining to someone else will take time (I may as well do it myself)â
Well maybe, but only the first time. Think of all those repeat tasks you do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, off your plate forever. Thereâs an added bonus to having to explain a task to someone â it forces you to think about the job at hand systematically, breaking down into steps, perhaps prompting a more efficient way of doing things.
Moving swiftly along then to the related
#2 âNo one will do as well as I willâ
Sounds pretty arrogant when you say it out loud, doesnât it? Yep, thatâs good old ego talking right there â thinking the world will fall apart without us. Someone else may not do it the same way you would, but that doesnât mean itâs not as good. Who knows, someone with a fresh perspective may even come up with a more efficient way of doing things (Gulp! Does this mean youâre obsolete? No, you just picked the right person to delegate to).
Colleagues need to feel that you trust their judgement and underlings need to be given a little autonomy now and again: nobody likes a micro-manager. If you systematically and clearly explain what needs to be done, then thereâs often no reason someone else canât do the task (unless it requires super-specialist knowledge that resides in your head alone â but be honest, how many tasks do you do every day that DONâT fall into that category?).
And if your employees or colleagues or service providers are genuinely incapable of producing the goods even after clear instruction, well, then youâve got bigger problems than learning how to delegate.
#3 Superhero/Martyr Complex
Maybe itâs a female thing, growing up in a culture where youâre told you can have it all (family, career, a perfect body), do it all, and that youâre genetically wired to multitask. A belief that it shows weakness to turn down a job, or make it someone elseâs responsibility. A worry that others will think youâre trying to evade work. And Iâll admit it, there have been times when Iâve taken pleasure in regaling someone with how much work I have to do (as if itâs a virtue to be overworked, when really it just means you arenât managing things properly). Nobodyâs going to award you a medal if youâre determined to âdo this if it kills meâ. Having too much on your plate just means that everything suffers. So go on. Delegate already.
#4 Flying by the seat of my pants (poor planning)
The truth is, sometimes I canât delegate because I donât have a clear plan of action. I canât assign tasks to other people, because Iâm just doing things as they come up. Unsystematic, inefficient, and often counter-productive. Iâm caught in a vicious cycle where Iâm not managing, but this last-minute, putting-out-fires approach is also preventing me from letting anyone assist me either. Clearly here the problem isnât delegation itself. As that cheesy-but-true quote often found lurking on free calendars says, âFailure to plan is a plan for failure.â
Well, thatâs in the obvious sense of simply not getting around to it, but thereâs another way in which procrastination gets in the way of me delegating tasks. Itâs sad I know, but if Iâm totally honest, sometimes I attempt to lull myself into a false sense of having gotten things done by putting my energies into mindless, repetitive or otherwise low-priority tasks that could be better done by someone else, while I get on with the tasks that demand my particular skills, or are more crucial or urgent. Iâm ticking off items on my to-do list, but Iâm not making real progress, because basically Iâm putting off tackling something difficult. *Sigh*. Again, here the problem isnât learning how to delegate, but doing so would remove one avenue to procrastination (one of many, but thatâs a topic for another blog post).
Which of these do you identify with? Perhaps you struggle with something else? Or maybe delegation comes naturally to you (youâre one of those annoying efficient people, arenât you?). Iâd love to hear your thoughts. In my next post, Iâll be discussing which tasks are the best to delegate.
