The Cost of Not Delegating

If you are a manager you are probably trying to keep a whole host of tasks and projects moving forward at the same time. You probably know that you could achieve more if you were to delegate more. In my experience managers often come up with a whole host of reasons for not delegating. I wonder if you recognise any of the following:

“I don’t have time to delegate”

“If you want a job done right do it yourself”

“It takes too long to delegate, I could do it quicker myself”

“I tried delegating once and I was let down by someone else”

Chances are you have heard one or more of the above, many times. By not delegating, you are probably experiencing some specific costs or consequences. It might be:

1. Continually staying late at work

Maybe you find that you are the person who is always first to arrive and last to leave. If that’s you, chances are that you could benefit from delegating more.

2. Missing key deadlines

If you are finding yourself always delivering things at the last minute or even worse missing deadlines completely, it might be time to take stock of what you are doing that you really should pass to others.

3. Feeling stressed or under constant pressure

When we start to feel stressed or just constantly under pressure it impacts on our ability to take decisions, solve problems or focus on the bigger picture.

4. Poor performance rating

If you are in a management role, a large part of how your performance will be assessed will be on how well you manage. If you are focusing all of your time and energy on doing rather than managing, chances are you will be poorly rated. This might mean no pay increase or your job being in jeopardy.

So what steps would you take to improve your delegation skills?

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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3 comments

David The Solar Energy Guy says 23 October 2010

Fantastic piece of writing, found it interesting. I will be adding your web blog to my personal list of favorites, keep up the truly great articles bud!

jocuri gratis says 26 January 2011

nice, keep these posts coming 🙂

Annabel Kaye says 25 February 2021

I believe there is a correlation between failure to delegate and bullying. Often people who fail to delegate have teams they should be using but don’t or only dump things on. The team leader blames team members for being incompetent and often vents their frustrations on the team. Poor delegation skills can set off a cascade effect or stress and bullying.

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The Cost of Not Delegating

About the Author Duncan Brodie

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3 comments

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