Illia Smoliienko, Chief Software Officer, Waites.
A recent study by the consulting firm DDI shows that fewer than 1 in 5 managers delegate effectively. And I get it. When I first started leading development teams, I believed the best way to guarantee results was to do everything myself. But reality caught up fast: Tasks kept piling up, while my team waited for approval on every small decision. It became clear that this strategy didn’t scale. That’s when I reframed my thinking from “Who else but me?” to “What if someone else does it differently—and better?”
In this article, I share what prevents technical leaders from delegating, why lack of trust leads to stagnation and how to build a process that drives real results.
The Illusion Of Control—And Its Cost
My reluctance to delegate came from the illusion of control—the belief that if I didn’t do it myself, it wouldn’t be done right. Under this illusion, we overestimate how much influence we truly have. But every leader has limits: The deeper you dive into tactical details, the less energy remains for strategy.
It’s not just fear of poor quality that holds leaders back. Biology plays a part, too. Finishing a task gives the brain a quick hit of dopamine, while strategic work demands focus and patience, and rarely brings instant wins. That’s why it can feel harder to step away from daily to-dos. The real challenge is accepting that success isn’t measured by completed tasks but by the team’s growth and achievements.
The need to control everything leads to overload and burnout, and signals distrust to the team. When every decision is second-guessed, people stop taking initiative and slip into a “just tell me what to do” mindset. Over time, that loss of ownership slows innovation—and the business itself.
Trust Is Your Greatest Team Asset
The turning point for me came when I realized that trust within a team is a resource for growth. Delegating means transferring not just tasks but responsibility. This gives employees more autonomy and encourages them to find solutions on their own, rather than rely solely on your instructions. They experiment with new approaches and tools, learn to make complex decisions, and articulate and defend their own ideas.
Research consistently shows that autonomy increases engagement, which in turn drives productivity. When people see how their work shapes outcomes, they act with more intention and experiment freely. This is the foundation of innovation in IT.
But autonomy works only when balanced with realistic expectations. When responsibility turns into pressure to perform, it backfires. Even healthy independence can lead to overload if people must decide too much under stress. This leads to loss of focus and confidence along the way.
How To Delegate Effectively
Experience taught me that simply handing off a task isn’t enough. You need a system. Here are a few principles that helped me build one:
1. Be intentional about what you delegate.
If you’re just starting to delegate, choose tasks that help your team members grow but aren’t mission-critical. This gives them space to make decisions and learn, while freeing your own time for strategic work.
2. Delegate outcomes, not just tasks.
Make sure your team understands how their work impacts the product or project long-term, not just that something needs to be done by the deadline. This shift encourages strategic thinking and helps the team mature into self-driven professionals.
3. Communicate the “why,” not just the “what.”
Clarity of purpose drives better decisions. When you explain why a feature or process matters, your team will often find smarter solutions on their own. And if they come to you with problems, resist the urge to provide the answer right away. Ask for their perspective and thoughts on solutions first.
4. Gather feedback continuously.
Delegation is an evolving process. Regularly discuss what’s working, what’s blocking progress and what information or resources the team still needs to make decisions confidently. This dialogue helps you fine-tune the right level of autonomy.
5. Balance trust with oversight.
Control is a natural part of leadership, but it shouldn’t slide into micromanagement. Agree on clear checkpoints where the team presents progress and outcomes. A good example is the freedom-and-responsibility principle used at Netflix: People have access to resources and clear goals, but they’re trusted to decide how to achieve them.
I’ve seen the power of delegation firsthand. A few years ago, our company faced a major challenge: to shrink a 16-terabyte cloud database. On cloud systems, this is especially challenging. In the past, I would have handled it myself. This time, I trusted department heads and their teams. They found the solution on their own and managed to reduce the database size to just 1 terabyte! It was an outstanding result that proved that trust delivers better outcomes than micromanagement ever could.
There’s no one-size-fits-all model for delegation. Effective leadership isn’t about strict rules but about understanding people and their strengths—and building systems that let those strengths thrive. When leaders stop being the bottleneck and design processes around people, rather than control, real growth begins.
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