Sometimes leaders struggle to delegate because they have learned to trust themselves more than they trust the people around them. They think, “If I want this done properly, I have to do it myself.” And because they can probably do it faster, they keep doing everything until they become exhausted and the people around them never really grow.
There is also the fear of losing control. When you delegate something, you have to accept that the person may not do it exactly the way you would. That’s where leadership gets uncomfortable. You have to give people room to learn, make mistakes and develop their own way of handling responsibility.
But if you keep everything in your hands, you may be limiting the very people you are supposed to be developing. Moses had to learn this when Jethro told him, “What you are doing is not good… You will only wear yourselves out” (Exodus 18:17–18). The issue wasn’t that Moses wasn’t capable; the issue was that he was carrying something that shouldn’t have been carried by one person alone.
So if you struggle to delegate, ask yourself honestly: “Am I protecting the work, or am I protecting my control over the work?” Sometimes that question will reveal the real problem.
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