Editorial
Few leaders are taught how to delegate, even though it’s one of the most important skills any leader can possess.
From the moment a person gets promoted to their first managerial role to the day they become CEO, delegation remains critical. But no one shows them what good delegation looks like. So they do what most of us do when we haven’t been taught something: they wing it. They hand off a few tasks and cross their fingers.
Sometimes it works. But more often, it doesn’t.
The task comes back off-base or not at all. So they step in to fix it.
That quiet slide from “They’ve got this covered” to “I’ll just do it myself” is where most managers start slipping into chronic overwhelm, not all at once, but slowly and consistently.
The pattern repeats. Leaders continue to delegate the same way, hoping next time will be different. But it rarely is.
Because delegation isn’t just misunderstood: For most leaders, it’s still a mystery.
Why Delegation Feels So Much Harder Than It Should
Most people assume delegation is simple.
You assign a task. Someone does it.
But in reality, delegation is one of the trickiest leadership skills because it’s not just about what gets done. It’s about how, by whom, and with what level of ownership, clarity, standard and accountability.
Are you handing off a task? A deliverable? A decision? Full accountability for a function?
If you’re delegating decisions, have you equipped your team to think through priorities, constraints and trade-offs that align with business goals?
Only 45% of employees say they clearly understand what’s expected of them at work, which is down from 56% prior to the pandemic, according to Gallup.
Counterintuitive insight: Every time you save your team members from redoing their work, you rob them of the chance to learn how to do it right — which guarantees you’ll keep having to do it yourself.
Why Delegation Is Even Harder in 2025
We’re navigating geopolitical instability, economic anxiety, lower budgets, layoffs, AI disruption, overlapping internal change initiatives and what feels like constant, intense pressure. The demands and stressors on leaders have increased, teams are leaner, and complexity is accelerating.
- You’re leading hybrid or remote teams — You can’t see who’s spinning. Delegation without clarity disappears into the remote void.
- You have less time and more responsibility — You’re juggling meetings, decisions, deliverables and strategy. Delegation feels like one more thing to manage, not the tool that frees you.
- The work is more complex — There are more stakeholders, more ambiguity and higher stakes. A vague email won’t cut it.
- Your team is more diverse in skill, experience, and style — What works for one person won’t work for all. Delegation requires nuance — not a blanket approach.
- Expectations are rising, but support hasn’t — You’re expected to grow people, drive results and be strategic — often without coaching or training.
Pro tip: If you’re still holding onto work your team could learn to do, you’re not saving time — you’re taking time and focus away from the work only you can do, and preventing your team from leveling up.
How High-Performing Leaders Delegate
High-performing leaders don’t delegate to get things off their plate.
They delegate to build team capability, grow confidence and free themselves up for work only they can do.
They know delegation isn’t just about handing off tasks — it’s about transferring ownership in a way that develops how their team thinks, decides, executes and delivers results.
They consistently:
1. Delegate early, before the fire drill.
They create time for learning, questions and iteration.
2. Define success, not just tasks.
“Here’s what needs to happen, how we’ll know it worked and why it matters.”
3. Transfer context, not just action.
They explain who’s impacted, what constraints exist and what trade-offs are acceptable.
Conference
Sep
16
HR Tech Conference Las Vegas 2025
Register
Conference
Oct
27
Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo Orlando 2025
Register
4. Build thinking, not just doing.
They coach through ambiguity. They develop decision-making and judgment, not dependency.
5. Stay available, but don’t hover.
They check in at key moments, strategically not constantly.
6. Close the loop.
They debrief: What worked? What didn’t? What would make this better or easier next time?
Pro tip: When in doubt, ask your employee to tell you, in their own words, what success looks like. You’ll know right away if it’s clear or not.
How Delegation Changes at Every Level
First-Time Managers
You’re transitioning from doing the work to leading others through it and no one really prepared you for that. Letting go feels risky. Your confidence is still tied to execution, and you don’t want to look like you’re slacking or micromanaging. So you hold on a little too long, or hand things off without enough clarity, and then quietly fix it when it comes back messy.
High-performing new managers treat delegation as a skill, not a shortcut. They define success clearly, explain why the work matters, and check for understanding before handing it off. They follow up early, not just at the deadline. They use delegation to build their team’s capability and their own leadership credibility. And they stay involved just enough to coach, not to rescue.
Mid-Level Leaders
You’re translating shifting priorities and expected to deliver results from above, while trying to support and develop a team that’s stretched thin without enough clarity, time, or support to do any of it well. You’re pulled in too many directions, trying to stay responsive to your team while managing visibility and expectations from senior leadership. Delegation feels necessary, but risky, because when it’s gone wrong in the past, the work bounced back or missed the mark. So you stay too involved, or step back too far, neither of which builds the capability or trust your team needs.
High-performers delegate to grow capacity in their team and in themselves. They align tasks to development goals, define outcomes clearly, and stay engaged just enough to coach through the gray areas. Over time, they reinforce habits and expectations that build trust, reduce dependency, and help their team take real ownership. And they focus their time on what delivers the most value to the business, not just what’s most urgent.
Senior Leaders
You’ve built your reputation on delivering when it matters most: high-stakes, high-visibility, no room for error. That reliability got you promoted. But now, it’s keeping you stuck in execution. You’re still saying yes because that’s how you’ve always added value. But behind the scenes, your calendar is overloaded, your team’s growth is stagnating, and the strategic work isn’t getting the attention it needs.
High-performers know their value isn’t just in delivering, it’s in multiplying results through others. They delegate the right outcomes with clear expectations and stay involved just enough to build judgment and accountability. They trust their team to lead, but they don’t disappear. They invest time in coaching through complexity so that the work — and the people — keep getting stronger, even when the stakes stay high.
Executives
You know you can’t do it all, and you don’t want to. But the stakes are high and the margin for error is razor-thin. You find it hard to fully let go. You stay close longer than you should, review more than you need to, and catch the things no one else thought to check. It feels like leadership. But it keeps you locked in oversight instead of orchestration and it limits your team’s ability to lead without you.
High-performing executives don’t just delegate decisions, they create the conditions for others to lead well. They define success up front, clarify who’s responsible for making each decision, and structure accountability so their senior leaders can operate with confidence. And they don’t disappear. They check in often, build and repair trust, and stay close enough to ensure alignment without taking the reins back.
Coaching Questions to Evaluate Your Delegation Skills
- What % of the work I delegate comes back unclear, incomplete or off-base?
- Where am I delegating tasks and deliverables, but not explaining what success looks like?
- What am I still holding onto that someone else could own with the right support?
- Have I taught my team how to think through tough decisions? Or trained them to escalate those decisions to me every time?
- Do I delegate in ways that build capability or just shrink my to-do list?
- If I had 20% more time this week, what would I use it for?
Final Thoughts
You can’t lead effectively, or sustainably, if you’re overwhelmed with work your team could be doing better with your support.
Delegation isn’t a soft skill. It’s a core leadership discipline.
It’s how you stop being the bottleneck and start becoming the kind of leader others actually grow with.
It takes clarity. Patience. Coaching. Review cycles.
But it’s worth it.
Because the leaders who delegate with clarity, trust and intention?
They don’t just lighten their load. They multiply their impact.
And they grow future leaders in the process.
Editor's Note: Learn more about the leadership skills you'll need in times of change:
- Courage Coach: How Can I Help My Team Deal With Constantly Changing Priorities? — Leading through change is as much about managing emotions and expectations as it is about managing tasks.
- How to Help Employees Navigate Through Uncertainty — Uncertainty can be bad for business, leading to loss of productivity, disengagement and more. Here's how leaders can help employees navigate uncertain times.
- What Skills Do Leaders Really Need? — Founder mode vs. manager mode reduces leadership to a limited binary. We take a look at the broad skills base that characterizes a strong leader.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
