Delegation can seem risky

Quite often, tasks that might be delegated could just as well be handled by the person delegating. With known quality and in somewhat predictable time.

The sentiment often seems to be that this could all be at risk when we delegate.

It could take longer, the result might not be as good. There could be loads of questions.

And when that happens, there would be too little time … and then I have to do it myself and then … screw it, I’ll quickly do it myself from the start, I don’t have the time and nerve for all that right now.

Of course, that approach eliminates all the benefits of delegation.

In no particular order: Quality. Creativity. Training. Leverage. Lower opportunity costs. Agency of those delegated to. Freeing cognitive bandwidth. Building confidence of team members. Building the team. And so on.

We’re not even talking about the fact that in relation to the people we’re leading proper delegation is simply the right thing to do.

Luckily there are practical and proven ways to drastically reduce and mitigate the actual and perceived risks of delegation. Task sizes. Intervals. Check ins. A lot to talk about (in another post).

Will those risks ever go to zero?

Probably not.

But handled appropriately, these risks will definitely be dwarfed by the converse risks of NOT delegating, of NOT reaping all those benefits. Not building your team. Not growing your people. Not deploying leverage.

In this context, it can help to think of delegation not as a burden or a cost, but as an investment. Into people. Into the team. Into one’s own ability to delegate even better, with even more confidence the next time. And the next time. And the one after that.

As with other investments, being aware of the risks and actively mitigating them is key. It allows intentional, calibrated action.

Risk is an inbuilt part of any investment. It’s the same with delegation.

And with an almost infinite upside and a solidly protected downside, this particular risk-profile looks quite appealing.