Healthy Organisation

Reluctant to Delegate Tasks – TRUST – 5

When tasks are not delegated, trust is questioned and both leaders and teams become overloaded.

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Where you’ll notice this in a team

This issue appears when responsibility remains concentrated in the hands of a few people, while others are underused or disengaged.

• In daily work: one person becomes a bottleneck for decisions and execution.
• In leadership roles: managers do the work themselves instead of enabling others.
• In projects: tasks pile up with the same individuals.
• In deadlines: work slows down because approvals or inputs are delayed.
• In team morale: capable people feel underutilized or not trusted.

Over time, this creates frustration on both sides: leaders feel overwhelmed, while team members feel excluded or underestimated.

Why it happens

Reluctance to delegate is often driven by good intentions, but it usually signals a lack of trust.

• Fear of losing control: “If I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done right.”
• Time pressure: delegating feels slower than doing it personally.
• Perfectionism: standards are not clearly communicated.
• Lack of confidence in others: skills or judgment are underestimated.
• Past failures: previous delegation attempts went poorly.

When delegation is avoided, learning stops and trust never has a chance to grow.

How it affects results

Teams that struggle with delegation often experience slower execution and limited growth.

• leaders become overloaded and burned out,
• decisions are delayed,
• team capability develops slowly,
• initiative and ownership decline,
• engagement and motivation suffer.

How to reduce and overcome it

Effective delegation is not about giving up control, but about creating shared ownership and accountability.

1. Clarify expectations: define outcomes, not just tasks.
2. Delegate progressively: start small and increase responsibility over time.
3. Focus on results, not methods: allow different approaches.
4. Provide support, not control: check in without micromanaging.
5. Reflect and adjust: learn from each delegation experience.

Delegation builds trust when people feel supported, not abandoned.

Practical communication tools

These tools help leaders and teams make delegation clear, safe, and effective.

• Outcome-based delegation: agree on what success looks like, not how to do the task.
• Delegation levels: clarify whether the person should inform, consult, or decide independently.
• Regular check-ins: short updates focused on progress and obstacles.
• Feedback loops: discuss what worked and what didn’t after completion.
• Capability mapping: match tasks to skills and development goals.

Recommended reading and resources

• Harvard Business Review – Getting teams to own their work
• MindTools – Effective delegation
• Google re:Work – Delegation for managers
• Atlassian – Clarifying roles and responsibilities
• McKinsey – Leadership and team effectiveness