How to Release Your Fear of Delegating Responsibility

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Clockwork" by Mike Michalowicz. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here.

Why do leaders fear delegation? How does delegating responsibility help you take your business to the next level?

Many leaders avoid delegating because they don’t like the idea of relinquishing control. However, as a leader, you don’t want to be too involved in the minutia of the daily operations as it takes your focus off the big picture.

Here’s how you can let go of your fear of delegating by gradually increasing your team’s independence.

Gradually Increase Your Team’s Independence

Training your employees to handle daily operations significantly reduces your hands-on work. To further trim down your hands-on work, train your employees to also be responsible for decisions associated with daily tasks. According to Michalowicz, the best process for this step is a gradual one: Over time, increase your teammates’ ownership over task-related decisions until they’re responsible for all task-related decisions. A gradual process ensures your employees have ample time to adjust to their new responsibilities.

Follow these steps to gradually delegate responsibility to your team:

1) Have employees interview you. After your employees learn how to complete their assigned tasks via your training videos, they’ll likely still have questions. When they do, schedule a meeting and have them interview you to learn more about their role. This way, they ask the questions they most need the answers to.

2) Delegate decisions to employees. After an employee is independently completing their assigned task(s), assign them the decisions associated with that task. For example, assign the person who interviews senior citizens to decide what interview questions to ask. To empower each employee to be independent with decision-making, resist the urge to give input on their decisions.

3) Reflect with employees on their decisions. After an employee makes a decision, provide them with an opportunity to learn from any mistakes by reflecting with them on their decision’s outcomes.

Additional Insights From The Dichotomy of Leadership

This process of gradually increasing your team’s responsibilities, while supporting them to learn from their mistakes, aligns with the hands-off leadership approach Jocko Willink and Leif Babin present in The Dichotomy of Leadership. They argue that leaders must trust their teammates to have a high level of responsibility. Michalowicz’s process provides an example of this: He expects employees to take responsibility for their own learning (through interviewing you) and for their decision-making. Furthermore, Willink and Babin claim you should still oversee your employees’ responsibilities. One example of this is Michalowicz’s suggestion that you reflect with your employees on their decisions’ outcomes.

Willink and Babin provide additional insights on hands-off leadership, which you can apply to Michalowicz’s steps for gradually increasing your team’s responsibilities. First, Willink and Babin add that you can build a teammate’s independence and leadership by reminding them how their role supports the mission. This increases their motivation and sense of accountability. Therefore, when delegating responsibility to your employees, clarify how those decisions support the mission.

Second, Willink and Babin argue that a hands-off leader must take responsibility for their team’s mistakes. It would be unfair to grant your teammates responsibility and then fully blame them for their mistakes. Therefore, when reflecting with your employee on their decision-making mistakes, take responsibility for any mistakes they made that resulted from your lack of direction.

How to Release Your Fear of Delegating Responsibility