Delegation is not about identifying lots of tasks and activities and then allocating to other colleagues in the hope that everything will run smoothly. It is about training and upskilling colleagues to take on new and different roles to challenge and motivate. 

It is a continuous development process. Assuming the role of a trainer, a manager will naturally seek ways to give more responsibility to their employees rather than simply delegating activities. In this way, mutual trust and respect develops. 

Employees can resist being delegated to for many reasons, including a fear of making a mistake; criticism; lack of information and support; low self- confidence; past experiences, and poor work relationships. A manager who continually fails to assess the “readiness” of employees before delegating will increase such resistance. So how do we assess “readiness”?

Trust is findamental to healthy relationships and relationships are fundamental to engagement, delegation and productivity