It is a Friday afternoon, and you are sitting with your subordinate to review the work you entrusted to him last month. Along the way, you provided support and allowed him to solve problems on his own. The entire team was aware of his delegated role and assignment, and most importantly, he knew what was required of him and how it had fit into the wider company’s mission. Although all his tasks were not completed in the set timeline, he grew in his critical thinking skills, and you were able to focus on the career development of other staff members.
You became this leader because you overcame your fears of delegating and learnt how to do it effectively.
We all know it—entrusting tasks, projects, or authority to someone else—is scary business. When you consider your past attempts and failures, limitations, and insecurities, your fears are very real. Despite all this, I want you to believe that you have help! Isaiah 41:13 (NLT) states: “For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” God has given you a position of authority for a reason, but He is not going to leave you all alone to manage it. Although delegation can be risky, learning to do it, with God’s help, is absolutely necessary. If the vision is worthwhile, become effective at delegating, because you cannot accomplish it alone.
We are going to explore three common fears of delegating, using stories from the Bible that will hopefully motivate you to gain victory over your fears.
Fear #1: I am afraid that the person I delegate to will fail.
As early as the book of Genesis, God delegates to human beings and they fail. It is not something to be feared, but something to be accepted. When you delegate and the person fails, extend grace and try again. If God delegates, we have no excuse but to learn from His example and patiently work with those assigned to us.
Fear #2: I am afraid that I will do a poor job of delegation.
In the same way that leadership of the Israelites moved from Moses to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:1-8, someone will eventually replace you. If you are fearful that you will fail at delegation and remain paralyzed by your fear, you will do nothing about it. If you do nothing about it, neither you nor your sub-ordinates will grow in the entire time span of your leadership. The Promised Land was greater than Moses, likewise the destination of your team is greater than you. With the bigger picture in mind, you have to trust God, delegate, fail, learn, and repeat.
Fear #3: I am afraid that the delegate will do a better job than me.
Consider that this fear was in King Saul’s heart too and it was the beginning of a nasty downward spiral of his hatred toward David (see 1 Samuel 18). If we leave this dangerous fear unchecked, we can quickly become monsters to those around us. This is the time for a heart check with God (see Psalm 139:23-24). If you genuinely believe that you and the delegated person are victorious by design, you will see that God has made you both with the talents and personality to lead in the way that only each of you can.
There is success, growth, and victory on the other side of your fears. Will you hold God’s hand and delegate?
By Kerry-Ann McPherson
Project Manager & Contributor
About Kerry-Ann
Kerry-Ann McPherson is a Christian leader and administrative professional who can usually be found consuming content on personal development. Like John Maxwell, she believes that change is inevitable, but growth is optional.
She serves as the Project Manager for Victorious By Design, and regularly contributes personal development content for the blog. She is also the Managing Editor for Victorious By Design Magazine, where she works closely with the Editor-in-Chief and magazine team to produce high quality content for subscribers.
Kerry-Ann holds two degrees in the field of Psychology. As an author, she desires to use this knowledge to stir her readers to reflect on the deeper meaning of their lives. At the end of her life, she wants to know that everything God stored up inside of her was poured out.
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