How we tick

Agreeableness: Agreeable people like to be liked, so the risk to delegation is providing low levels of challenge, both in setting the delegation outcome and holding the other to account for delivery.

Conscientiousness: Conscientious people strive very hard to get something done right. The risk for delegation is they tend to do everything themselves.

Neuroticism: This is when you’re scared and bothered by things to a degree others may see as disproportionate. Neurotics will worry about things going wrong, and often want to do everything themselves or micromanage.

Openness: People scoring high on openness often try new things and give trust easily. On the face of it, that’s great for delegation, but if they don’t see evidence of progress, their conscientiousness can kick in and they take over and micromanage.

I guess the trick is just to be aware of how we tick, and watch out for unexamined traits getting the better of us.

Easy to say, I know!