Understanding the Concept of Delegation
“If I do it, it will get done faster,” “I don’t have time to explain,” “the last time I delegated, they messed it up,” “my team isn’t ready,” “better I do it myself to avoid problems”.
As an executive coach, these are some of the phrases I hear most often from leaders in various Mexican organizations. These phrases, though seemingly harmless, reveal a significant area of opportunity—and immense potential—for transforming the way we lead, grow our teams, and develop our organizations.
Delegation is not simply distributing work or giving orders disguised as collaboration. It’s an intentional, strategic, and relational process. Delegation means transferring responsibility for a task, project, or decision to another person while providing them with the resources, authority, context, and trust needed to act autonomously. It’s not about letting go and disengaging; it’s about stepping into a different role: less doer, more enabler.
However, there’s something deeper. The real obstacle to delegation lies not in the schedule or structure but in the leader’s mindset. Delegating requires a shift from a control mentality to one of trust: “someone else can do it as well or even better than I can.”
The Mindset Barrier in Mexico
This is a existential, emotional, and cultural challenge in Mexico, and elsewhere. International studies show that Mexican leaders delegate less than their global counterparts, which is a disadvantage in an environment demanding agility, innovation, and empowerment.
The GLOBE study on culture, leadership, and organizations ranked Mexico 59th out of 61 countries in participative leadership, reflecting a low inclination to involve others in decision-making.
According to the London Business School, only a third of global executives believe they delegate well (and even fewer receive positive feedback from their teams on this skill). In Mexico, this figure is likely lower. As per Hofstede, our country scores high on distance to power and aversion to uncertainty. This implies that the boss makes decisions, validates them, and corrects mistakes. Delegation in such an environment can feel like a sign of weakness.
Hogan’s latest study on Mexican executives supports this view: our leaders tend to value tradition, conformity, and security more than autonomy or innovation, indicating a preference for control and predictability over team autonomy.
The Cost of Not Delegating
The outcome is clear: less innovation, lower productivity, and increased pressure on executives. The evidence of the impact is compelling: according to DDI, leaders who don’t delegate have 70% more chances of experiencing burnout. Their teams lose up to four times in creativity and produce 2.2 times less. All because of reluctance to let go.
On the other hand, organizations that delegate well achieve up to 30% improvements in innovation and efficiency, as per Gartner and Mercer. A Gallup study found that executives with high delegation skills showed an average growth of 112 percentage points more than those with low talent for delegation—and generated 33% more revenue than their less effective peers.
If the evidence is so overwhelming, why don’t we delegate? Because changing the mindset hurts.
As Stephen M.R. Covey writes in his book The Speed of Trust: “The Command and Control style no longer works. Today, leaders inspire trust, and by doing so, develop and release the greatness in each person.” For him, a trusting leader’s three responsibilities are: Model (who you are), Trust (how you lead), and finally, Inspire (connect with the purpose).
Success Stories in Mexico
Some Mexican leaders are already experiencing and practicing this. In an interview with El Economista, Salvador Alva (an entrepreneur and former president of Tecnológico de Monterrey) stated, “If you don’t give freedom to all individuals and allow them to reinvent their work every day, that company will start dying.” Alva emphasizes that effective leadership requires granting trust and autonomy to collaborators. He notes that traditional leaders often cling to control, but to foster innovation and talent development, delegating responsibilities and allowing each person the freedom to improve and innovate daily is essential.
Arturo Elías Ayub (an entrepreneur and thought leader, director of Strategic Alliances at América Móvil) in the context of his book El Negociador, reflects on the importance of delegating and trusting in a work team. He uses the analogy of tennis (an individual sport) versus soccer (a team sport) to emphasize that business success no longer depends on individual efforts but on delegating responsibilities and operating as a well-synchronized team. He highlights that, after the initial phase of solo entrepreneurship, building a loyal, capable, and trusted team is crucial for the company’s functioning and success.
Five Steps to Transform Your Mindset
- Clearly define what you want to achieve and why it matters. Don’t delegate random tasks; delegate intention and purpose. Instead of saying “create a Chile market presentation,” say: “We need a clear proposal to help us decide if entering Chile is worth it, considering regulations, competition, margins, and entry barriers. The goal is to present this to the Committee on Monday.” This generates focus, commitment, and critical thinking.
- Choose the collaborator based on potential, not just experience. Sometimes, it’s better to bet on someone showing initiative, aligned values, and a growth mindset. Leadership is built through doing. Each time you delegate correctly, you’re activating a powerful act of deliberate development.
- Ensure real power, not just work. Delegating without empowering is a trap. It’s not enough to say “do this”; you need access to key data, autonomy to decide, and risk coverage. Say: “I support your decision to change strategy if you choose; just ensure a solid justification.”
- Set clear review points. Define specific times to review progress—for example, every Wednesday or at critical stages—and respect them. Asking “how are you doing?” every day conveys anxiety, not trust. Useful follow-up focuses on decisions and learnings, not process control. Don’t forget the key question in this review process: “how can I support you?”
- Embrace mistakes as part of the journey. Mature delegation involves accepting that mistakes can happen. What matters is learning quickly, adjusting, and moving on. Instead of punishing, ask: “what did you learn and what would you do differently?”
Delegation is not losing control; it’s smartly designing control. It’s freeing time, forming leaders, and building more resilient and innovative organizations. But it all starts with changing the leader’s mindset: stop thinking “if I don’t do it, no one can,” and start believing “if I do it alone, we can accomplish much more.”
As Covey says, “Trust is not demanded; it’s inspired”. And perhaps, the greatest act of leadership today is daring to let go… and discovering that others can also soar, perhaps even better and much higher.
