Delegation barriers and how to address them

When delegation is not working, examine one handover: what was agreed, where work stopped and what was missing. Useful questions concern the result, access, authority, workload and feedback. “I cannot trust this person” does not identify which part of the process needs to change.

Separate concern from an observable problem

The publicly available section of a Chartered Management Institute article identifies perfectionism as one possible barrier to delegation. It also includes a manager's account of becoming too involved in the team's work. CMI's article on difficulties with delegation. This is one possible explanation, not a diagnosis for everyone who finds handing over difficult.

Record an observation: “I rewrote the entire draft although it met the agreed requirements” or “Work waited three days for folder access.” The first calls for a discussion about criteria and intervention; the second needs access resolved. The same reminder will not fix both situations.

Locate where the handover stopped working

The following table is an editorial tool for examining a work situation. It does not assign blame or replace a conversation with the people involved.

Ask about a specific stage: “Where did you stop, and what decision is needed?” Give the person room to explain. Avoid inferring motivation from one missed deadline or silence in a chat.

Match the change to the cause

If the result is unclear, agree on a small sample. If a skill is missing, work through a section together or arrange learning. If the person is overloaded, reconsider priorities and scope. If the request has changed, update the agreement and deadline so that people do not work from different versions.

Where authority is missing, name the decisions available to the recipient and who approves the rest. Restart with a short assignment with boundaries and a review. “Show more initiative” does not supply a missing decision; our guide to preparing for recurring requests also covers this distinction.

Provide help while keeping ownership clear

In a fictional example, an employee cannot finish an agenda because two participants propose incompatible meeting times. The manager clarifies who chooses the slot, and the employee then updates the draft. Helping with a decision need not mean taking back the entire task.

Sometimes reassignment or taking the work back is necessary. State the change clearly: who now leads the task, which materials transfer and which deadline applies. If work cannot continue without a missing resource, record the pause and the condition for restarting.

Check the revised agreement

After making a change, choose the next result to review. The recipient might prepare one section using permitted data, which you then compare with the criteria. Consider whether uncertainty has reduced and whether new obstacles have appeared. More frequent status messages alone do not show improvement.

Use our framework for working with feedback to discuss specific revisions. Compare possible handovers with the worked delegation examples. If the conditions remain unworkable, reconsider the task itself as well as how often you review it.