Delegation Confession

Does anybody else have a hard time delegating? I'm not so sure delegating comes natural to anyone.  I think it is a learned skillset that those of us in leadership must master.  I have been in youth ministry for twenty years and this has always been a struggle for me.  There are several reasons people have for not delegating, or not delegating well.  Most people say it is easier to do the task themselves.  Others say they don't have time to delegate.  And yet others say they feel lazy asking others to do their responsibilities for them.  It is the latter one that I wrestle with the most.

Laziness or Longevity?

As I said, this is the one I struggle with the most.  I feel like if I give up one of the tasks entrusted to me, I am shirking my responsibility.  I also want to make sure I am worth my keep as a professional youth pastor.  But delegating increases our effectiveness, reaching further than we ever could by ourselves.  It is not laziness at all.  It actually does take more work.  Which leads us to our next point:  I don't have time to delegate.

No Time or No Time Management?

Some people don't delegate because they say they don't have time to delegate.  To some, it may seem like delegating shouldn't take any time at all.  You just ask someone to do something.  But in reality it is way more than that because you need to support the person you have delegated to in order to ensure their success (see below).  But to those who say they don't have the time to delegate, I say, you don't have the time not to delegate.  Handing over responsibilities to others relieves you of some of your duties so that you can focus on the most important ones.  There are so many things that I love to do and love to figure out how to do.  But they aren't the best use of my time.  So plan for delegation, schedule it, calendar for it and you will wonder why you never made time to delegate before.

Selfish or Selfless?

Most people having a hard time delegating say it is easier to just do it themselves.  And to them I say, they're right.  It is easier.  But easier is not always better.  Leaders know how they want something done and when it's not done the way they want, it is hard for them.  I know this is true for me as well.  But someone else is gifted in other ways than you.  Sometimes they can do something even more beautiful than you or I ever could.  So it is selfish to keep all the tasks, well, for yourself.  We need to give others the gift of experiencing ministry as well.  They need to get some credit too.  They need to experience the joys and sorrows, thus increasing their dependence on God through faith in Him also.  And when we give up we grow out.  The more we delegate, the more we increase our effectiveness in the community in which we serve.

A Few Simple Tips on Starting Delegating Today:

1. Plan for it.  Schedule who you will talk to and when.
2. Get over the mindset that says "delegating is lazy."  It's not.  It's what we are called to do - "discharge all the duties of your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:5).  If you don't, your ministry dies with you.
3. Publicly praise and privately correct.  Encourage, encourage, encourage!  And support the delegatee with training and resources in order for them to have the best chance for success.  Ultimately that makes you look better in the end too!

So, how's your delegation going?  Where have you found successes?  Failures?  I look forward to hearing from you.