Delegating - A Love/Hate Relationship

What is delegating?

Delegating is a term used to describe the act of assigning a task or responsibility to another person or group.

Although some perfectionists hate to delegate, delegation can be a crucial tool when it comes to equally diving work for the betterment of the business. This in turn increases efficiency and reduces the overall workload of an individual. However, there is a huge reluctance in many perfectionists and entrepreneurs when it comes to delegating. And in this article we will explore why so many folks out there have a love-hate relationship with delegating.

Why do entrepreneurs love the DIY approach and the fears of delegating work to others?

DYI's Know it inside-out & The Fear of feeling redundant

Entrepreneurs are people who have set up their business from scratch and know all the nitty gritty of it. Furthermore, since at the start of every business, most entrepreneurs either find themselves doing it all on their own for lack of finances or for the desire to learn and stay on top of it all they might feel a bit redundant on delegating work later on.

DIY's Love for Quality Control & Lack of Trust in Delegation

For one, the DIY approach allows them to have complete control over their business - which they can retain, but the perception and emotional experience of handing work to others may feel scary and a threat to their sense of control over the work and quality of it. And for some entrepreneurs, giving up even a small amount of control can be scary. They think that the other person might not take those minor decisions effectively thereby compromising the long-term goals of the business. So, a fear of delegating emerges as a result of lack of trust in the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of other's work.

DIY is cheaper (on paper) and Delegating can be a waste of money

Finally, the DIY approach can be a great way to save money. When you're doing it yourself - your investment is intangible - more often than not it takes time and effort, and many entrepreneurs don't think of this is an actual investment. However, the truth is that time is the most precious resource and an activity that may take an expert 1h may take the novice 20h in ''figuring it all''. But the fear of paying someone for an activity and getting poor results can be a bigger driver to the DIY approach than many want to admit.

What's delegating good for?

Delegating is often seen as a way to get things done more efficiently, but it can also be a way to improve the quality of the work being done. When you delegate, you are essentially getting experts to do the work for you. This can be beneficial for a number of reasons.

1. Getting experts to do it better

While delegating, you are essentially finding a person who is the best candidate for the task. This means that he/she is specially trained and has all adequate skillsets to do that job even better. This increases the overall efficiency and quality of work!

2. Freeing time for self-care

If you delegate work, it lets you free up time and focus on more important things in your business. Also, sometimes delegating work, can give you that extra tad bit of time you need to relax and divert your mind from work - here are some ideas of activities that may help with this - link here. This is necessary as it can help you cool off and reduce stress!

3. Some of the aforementioned free time can be utilised for relaxing, yes, but also for focusing on what you are the best at

It’s a known fact- you cannot be simply the best at everything. There are certain strengths and weaknesses in your work. So, delegating tasks that you are not the greatest at or tasks that are unnecessary to be done by you, can buy you more time to focus on what you are best at - and where you can make the best advancements at.

This is the end of our post on why entrepreneurs have a love-hate relationship with delegating. We hope you enjoyed reading about this topic and will consider delegating more of your tasks in the future. Remember, delegating is a skill and it’s a mindset. Once you get over the emotional pain of giving up control, you'll start to realize that delegation is at the core of every successful business.

If you would like to continue reading great articles on the topics of entrepreneurship, work-life balance, healthy boundaries and even workaholism, explore our blog and enjoy the journey of learning and growth. We also recommend that you check out our course on Burnout and Workaholism which will help you to end burnout and workaholism and thrive without having to sacrifice the quality of your work or the dreams and goals you have.