
DELEGATING – WHY IS IT SO HARD?
Too often, you might think that the best way to get something done is to do it yourself. While it works in many aspects of your life, trying to take everything on can end up being counterproductive. Eventually, as you make your way through your professional career, you’ll run out of capacity for many jobs that fall under your responsibilities. Why is it so hard to delegate when it’s time to ask someone to take over one of your tasks?
There are several reasons why you probably struggle to delegate your tasks to other people. It’s not uncommon, but it can cause many problems for your overall well-being. Some common excuses you may find yourself saying include:
- It’s a complex job, and no one can do it as well as me.
- It’s a lot of extra teaching. I don’t have the time.
- It’s a hard job, so I’ll lead by example and do it myself.
- I don’t know where to start.
Delegating is difficult because no matter the outcome, we are still responsible. It would be great to choose someone familiar with the work that you know you can trust to get the job done and get it done right. But can you afford to hire someone like that on your team? Can you help transform someone into a top performer you can lean on when you’ve got too much on your plate?


