Leaders Shouldn’t Feel Bad About Delegating Undesirable Work

When talking to my clients about delegation, one specific stumbling block tends to come up the most.  They fear delegating something they believe their people will find undesirable. So rather than delegating, they keep doing the undesirable task themselves, only to find they don’t have time for the work they should be doing.  If you find yourself in this situation, here are some important things to consider.

1. How should you be spending your time so that your people and company get the most benefit?

The answer I often hear is, “I need to be working on more strategic tasks.”  When leaders hold back delegating, they are preventing themselves from adding value where it is most needed which can ultimately hurt the people they are trying to protect from the undesirable work. Delegating helps leaders elevate their impact and better support others.

2. The person who is assigned the undesirable task might grow from it and may even like it.

One of my clients delegated an undesirable task to one of her best employees when she went on an extended vacation.  She returned expecting to take back the task, but actually learned the employee enjoyed doing it because it expanded his learning and job scope.

3. No job is exempt from at least some undesirable work.

The reality of every job is there is always some percentage that is undesirable. As much as leaders may want to protect their people from it, doing so may create an unrealistic culture that is impossible to maintain.  A better strategy is for leaders to provide coaching and guidance that helps their people to be resilient and flexible when they are struggling with an undesirable task.

So next time you hesitate to hand off undesirable work, consider the benefits and give it a try. You will likely be glad you did.