HBR IdeaCast Why It’s So Hard to Delegate — and How to Improve
149 snips
Sep 2, 2025 Elsbeth Johnson, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and author of the article 'Why Aren’t I Better at Delegating?', dives into the struggles leaders face with delegation. She discusses psychological barriers like the fear of losing control and how they hinder team growth. Johnson shares practical strategies for enhancing delegation skills by aligning tasks with team members’ strengths and avoiding micromanagement. She also examines the role of clear expectations and resources, making delegation a vital leadership skill for organizational success.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Cost Of Hoarding Work
- Not delegating wastes organizational ROI, stalls employee growth, and crowds out leaders' strategic time.
- Elsbeth Johnson says hoarding work prevents leaders doing higher‑value, long‑term tasks.
Use The Better‑Cheaper Test
- Ask: Am I the best, cheapest person to do this work before keeping it.
- If not, give enough context so the recipient can deliver the work as well as you would.
Trade Doing For Context‑Setting
- Replace the dopamine hit of doing tasks with ticks for context‑setting and routines.
- Use checklists and repeatable questions to lower cognitive load and ease delegation.