Delegation - When is it not Appropriate?

Plan your work in advance. Prioritize your tasks. Determine what is urgent and important.

Time is your most precious commodity. No matter how hard you try, you can't do everything by yourself. In leadership, one of the things we are always being reminded of is the importance of delegation, and with good reason. It not only ensures an even distribution of work and responsibility, it also provides important opportunities for individual exploration and growth.

If there is one comment we hear most often after completing a Time Management program, it is "I need to delegate more". Many leaders avoid delegating responsibilities. They may be uncomfortable or simply not used to delegating. Others live by the motto "If you want something done right, do it yourself." While it makes sense that they should perhaps delegate more, some leaders embrace delegation so much it becomes detrimental to the reasons to delegate in the first place.

What most time management programs don't always teach you is when you should steer clear from delegating. Though there are times when it's warranted, we need to become more conscience of when it actually isn't. So when is it not appropriate to delegate?