Despite countless pieces of research pointing to the importance of delegation, many managers resist delegating to others. Common barriers include:

• Authority and control: Losing authority and control is a real fear for many managers. Giving up control is a basic ingredient of leadership – otherwise how can others develop? A leader must trust their employees when delegating activities
• Time and effort: There is a common belief that “it will be quicker to do it myself”. Ironically, to free up time, a manager must make an effort and spend time training colleagues to take on new roles and responsibilities
• Risk: There is a vulnerability when sharing authority and responsibility with colleagues. (“What happens if it fails? I will be blamed.”) Effective delegation reduces risk by ensuring employees are properly supported and not micro-managed
• Comfort: “I like doing my job this way”. The comfort of doing the same role and making the same decisions can be difficult to relinquish. A failure to delegate activities limits the ability to assume new roles and responsibilities
• Pride: Delegating an activity to a subordinate who subsequently performs it better can shake a manager’s confidence. Living with this type of fear destroys leadership
• Self enhancement bias: “It’s better that I do it: I know that it will be done correctly!” This type of attitude breeds perfectionism, an overwhelmed manager and demotivated employees
• Internal politics and recognition: “If I delegate my job, I will be redundant.” “Knowledge is power!” A manager may view delegation as minimising their own status and recognition by others. Unfortunately, this attitude stops the manager progressing within an organisation
• Fear of responsibility: Some managers believe that their employees do not want to take on new roles and responsibilities. This is very narrow minded: most people like to have an opportunity to take on new challenges.

Responsible delegation is a calculated risk, so it is important to delegate to the right people.