Kit Barber breaks down why delegation fails: you need integrity, competence, and willingness. Someone can be honest and skilled but still underperform if they don't care about the outcome. All three matter, or keep the task yourself.
Here are 2 things that you must check before delegating any task. First, can you trust their integrity? Will they do what they say they'll do? Will they tell you the truth if something goes wrong? Will they protect your reputation when you're not in the room? If it's no to any of those, then don't delegate. And second, can you trust their competence? So have they done this before and have they done it well? Can they solve a problem themselves, or will they need handholding at every single flipping step? If the skill's not there, then the task fails. It's as simple as that. And there's one bit more that leaders often miss. Even if someone's honest and they're capable, if they don't actually want the responsibility, they won't deliver it properly. They'll go through the motions instead of owning it. So it's not really two boxes, it's actually three: character, skill, and whether they actually care about the outcome. All three and you can delegate with confidence. But even if one of those is missing, you need to keep the task or ideally find someone else.
