Why It’s So Hard to Delegate — and How to Improve

Turn breakthrough ideas into real results at the virtual HBR Innovation Summit on November 12th with top CEOs and master classes on AI and growth. HBR executive subscribers attend free, with exclusive programming November 13th. Learn more at hbr.org slash innovation summit. I'm Alison Beard. And I'm Adi Ignatius, and this is the HBR Idea cast.

So Adi, one thing that I think almost every leader struggles with is delegation, particularly if you have risen through the ranks because you have been a star performer in your field, a producer, someone who gets things done, it can feel really weird to start outsourcing that work, not even rote tests, but also decision making to others. Yeah, I, you know, we've written about this before and it's absolutely key. First of all, nobody wants to work for a micromanager. Secondly, you can't do it all.

And I'm probably not a great delegator. There are things that I feel very strongly about, the process, the way I do things. It's hard for me to give that up. It's hard for me to imagine that somebody else could do it as effectively and efficiently. So I'm not I'm not great in this area.

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