It's you, not them

We know we need to delegate
We want to delegate
We have to delegate

And so, why is it so hard?

There are the obvious reasons. Concern that that the person I am delegating to does not have the experience and the skills that I have. That they will make minor mistakes, that they won't "catch" a critical issue before it blows up. We worry that we won't be in the loop as much as we need to be.

But those things are all manageable. In fact, in having made the decision to delegate, you have come to the conclusion that they are manageable - by setting up a good feedback loop, meeting protocols, mentoring; by setting up a management system that keeps you informed.

Its that last thing that makes the delegating hard. Its not about the person to whom you are delegating.

It is about you.

You need to be ready to let go. You need to be able to look at yourself and admit that you can't do it all. You need to really reconcile yourself to the fact that things will go well, even better, if you let go.

It is hard, these things we are delegating ... they are ours. We created them, nurtured them, and made them happen. Giving that up is hard. But necessary.

So pay attention to preparing your people for delegation ... they are ready .

And pay attention to preparing yourself for delegation. Are you really ready?

Your company depends on it.