Why It’s So Hard to Delegate — and How to Improve

The HBR IdeaCast episode features Allison Beard and Adi Ignatius discussing the challenges of delegation for leaders. They interview Elsbeth Johnson, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, about her research on why leaders struggle to delegate effectively. Johnson identifies four main reasons: the personal satisfaction of being productive, employees seeking help, leaders facing pressure from above, and a limited definition of work. She provides advice on overcoming these challenges, emphasizing the importance of identifying delegatable tasks, setting context for employees, and recognizing delegation as a key leadership skill. The conversation also touches on the role of organizational policies and the potential of AI in delegation. Johnson offers actionable steps for leaders to improve their delegation skills, including auditing their workload and matching tasks to employees' strengths.