Fred’s blog about control a few weeks ago inspired me to think about a related subject, delegating. I was never good at delegating work. I always felt that I could probably do it better and faster myself. I’ve come to realize that my inability to delegate work was tied into my inability to relinquish control over the work.

A few years ago, we hired a very skilled associate. In the years  that she’s been with my firm I have very slowly learned to delegate work to her. I have learned that my new found ability to delegate is a positive thing for my office and our clients; it frees me up to do other work and the clients still get their work done well but at a lower billable rate.

My associate is now due to give birth to her first child the first week of April. While she promises me that she plans on returning to work she is taking three months off to enjoy with her new baby. I worry that, during that time, I will lose my new found ability to delegate.

Are you a good delegator?