Why Do Some People Want to Do It Themselves?

Knowing the potential teams bring to the table, why do some people still want to do things by themselves?

Let’s face it: there are many things that we could just do ourselves to get things done faster. Has that ever been the case for you? Of course, it has! When this shows up, we need to assess whether what we are doing truly needs to be done by us or if we need to train, empower, and give our people a chance to take on more responsibility themselves. 

Aside from the need to delegate more and jump in less, where I’m going here is making sure the reasons we and our leaders want to do it ourselves are for the right reasons. If we are servant leaders, we are doing things for our people they cannot do for themselves. NOT doing things for our people they could do for themselves. That is subservient leadership. Maybe you’ve heard Dave Ramsey share about this!

So, let’s look at the wrong reasons why people want to do it themselves, with the first being ego. I'll address a few more in another message.

In a study on the topic of ego, I was surprised to hear an author state that few people like admitting that they can’t do everything. I don’t think that’s been me very often. I don’t mind not doing everything, and I don’t mind asking for help if I really need it. Like moving a table that is so heavy I could hurt my back OR asking Wes to help me haul our grandbabies' equipment to the car when we’re taking them somewhere.

Then I realized the author was talking about specifically thinking that we can or should be doing what we believe is everything our position at work may require us to do. You know, spinning all the plates we must keep in the air as leaders.

There are many things only we can do as leaders. These are our responsibility and the buck stops with us. But much of what we do can often be delegated. We have to check ourselves and our ego here and make sure if we are holding on to what we are doing and not delegating, that it’s not a matter of ego. Recognizing and addressing our ego can be challenging, but it's a crucial step toward effective delegation and team empowerment.