Many harm reduction programs start out as DIY operations, with one person (or a few people) doing everything from outreach to vehicle maintenance to training volunteers. This “can do” attitude is laudable but becomes problematic when organizations expand and there are others who can help, yet leaders are often reluctant, or simply don’t know how, to delegate tasks to others. Reasons for being reluctant to do so may include:

• Thinking it would take longer to explain the task than just doing it themselves
• Wanting to feel indispensable
• Enjoying completing certain projects or tasks
• Feeling guilty about adding more work onto someone else’s to-do list
• Lacking trust in the people they need to transfer the project to
• Secretly (or not so secretly) believing that they’re the only ones who can do the job right

Delegation is actually the key to organizational success. It creates transparency, empowers others, and reduces workloads.

Learning to delegate can be difficult. Some suggestions from existing leaders include:

• Know what to delegate
• Learn to let go
• Set expectations/define desired outcome
• Play to people’s strengths and goals
• Provide resources and guidance, not control
• Have faith in your team
• Have clear lines of communication
• Allow for failure/ be patient
• Deliver (and ask for) feedback on the process
• Give credit where credit is due

Look for opportunities to learn and practice delegation. This may mean leadership or management training. It may also mean simply talking to other leaders about how they delegate work to others and the challenges they have faced in order to avoid those pitfalls.