The Wellness Perspective: Leaders Who Don’t Delegate

Delegation is a critical skill in any workplace, yet many leaders struggle with it.

Some of the things that may be observed are:

🔴 Resistance to setting up delegation meetings

🔴 Manuals and processes promised but never completed

🔴 Unhelpful or dismissive attitudes when training the person

While these behaviours can be frustrating, they often stem from deeper reasons.

🙅 Why leaders wont delegate

On the surface, it might seem like these leaders are simply unwilling to share their knowledge; that they don’t trust that others will do the job as well as they do, or that they are too busy to look into this. This is likely to be what they think, too.

However, beneath these behaviours, there’s often more at play:

🌿 Fear of losing control: Delegating may feel like losing control, especially for those who pride themselves on perfection or have faced disappointment with delegation in the past.

🌿 Self-worth tied to work: Some leaders equate their value with being indispensable. Delegating might make them feel replaceable or unnecessary.

🌿 Trauma and trust issues: Past experiences, whether personal or professional, can make leaders hesitant to trust others.

🌿 Overwhelm: They might see delegation as an all-or-nothing process, requiring perfectly detailed manuals and long hours of training, making it feel impossible to start.

All of those deeper reasons will trigger fear, stress, lack of focus, resentment and procrastination.

The Wellness Perspective

Wellness coaching helps leaders uncover the real reasons behind their resistance to delegation and offers solutions beyond surface-level advice or pushing them to “just do it”.

Here’s how we do it:

🎯 Breaking down the process: Coaching helps leaders clarify what needs to be delegated, identify small first steps, and approach delegation incrementally rather than as a massive project.

🎯 Exploring emotional triggers: By examining fears and beliefs around delegation, coaching reveals deeper motivations and helps leaders reframe their perspective.

🎯 Reconnecting with values and personal goals: Leaders gain insights on how delegation aligns with core values, such as improving health, spending time with family, or rediscovering hobbies.

🎯 Identifying personal drivers:

Coaching helps them identify their main motivators/drivers at work and how they can have them fulfilled without hoarding information and processes.

🎯 Rebuilding confidence: Coaching addresses trust issues by exploring strategies to become more flexible, and to lower their standards for the sake of their own health and wellbeing.

Why This Matters

If you have employees who struggle to delegate, it’s easy to assume they’re resistant for the sake of hoarding the information, that they “can’t be bothered to help”, or that they lack time-management, but often, there is more behind this resistance and procrastination. It is very unhelpful to simply make assumptions.

They may not realise how much it’s costing them personally - stress, health issues, relationships - or how it’s impacting your business.

If delegation threatens their sense of security, it’s not something they are likely to voice, either. These deeper issues often can’t be addressed in performance reviews or casual conversations.

What can you do?

Do you recognise this challenge in your workplace? Have you observed an employee or leader who resists delegation, despite the impact on themselves and the business?

Coaching can bridge the gap between the surface problem and its root cause, unlocking solutions that create lasting change.

Let us know how we can help your team delegate better.

*****

🌿Sophie Anderson

Founder, Cairns Coaching | Coaching for Thriving Workplaces

www.cairnscoaching.au

Empowering teams and individuals through:

🟣 Corporate Wellness Programs

🟣 Personal Development Workshops

🟣 Individual Coaching

Our Signature Programs:

🌿 Corporate Wellness (3-month hybrid program)

🌿 Coaching-Only Program

🌿 Team Growth Package

🌿 In-House Coaching Days

✨ Upcoming Event:

Join us for Cairns Coaching’s Networking and Wellness Blueprint Launch event on 12 February 2025!

https://events.humanitix.com/wellness-blueprint-2025

➡️ Contact: sophie@cairnscoaching.au | DM for more info