The teacher crouches down, eye level with a five-year-old. “Can you put your crayons back in the box?”
The child nods but hesitates. The teacher hovers, pointing. “No, not that way—here, let me do it for you.” She guides the small hands, corrects the angle, snaps the lid shut.
Technically, the child did the task. But really, the teacher still owned it. The kid never learned to close the box on their own.
That’s fine in kindergarten. Children need constant guidance. They need protection. They need correction in real time.
But in the workplace? Babysitting masquerading as delegation is a recipe for frustration.
How Babysitting Shows Up at Work
Now picture this at the office. A manager assigns a report: “I want you to handle the client analysis.”
The employee starts working. The manager hovers: “Did you format it this way? Don’t forget this column. Let me check the numbers again. Actually, I’ll just fix it.”
Sound familiar? That’s not delegation. That’s babysitting.
The employee ends up with the same feeling as the five-year-old with crayons—watched, corrected, but not trusted. The work is technically theirs, but the responsibility still sits with the manager.
And here’s the truth: there’s no place for babysitting at work. Adults don’t grow under constant correction. They grow when trusted to own the task—even if they wobble the first time.
Why Managers Babysit
Managers don’t hover because they’re cruel. They hover because they’re scared.
- “What if they fail and I look bad?”
- “What if they do it differently than I would?”
- “It’s faster if I just guide every step.”
These fears feel responsible, but they quietly choke growth. When you protect people from every mistake, you protect them from every lesson too.
In The Delegation Game (beta), I wrote:
“To delegate is to bet on a person. If you can’t risk a small mistake today, you’ll never reap the big wins tomorrow.”
The Cost of Babysitting
Babysitting has hidden costs:
- Overworked managers. You’re still carrying the worry even if you handed off the task.
- Underworked employees. They stop thinking for themselves because you’ll correct it anyway.
- Stalled growth. The team never levels up, and you never get free.
You can see it in teams where managers hover: tasks get done, but people never improve. And when the manager’s away? Everything freezes.
What Happens When You Stop Babysitting
Let’s flip the picture.
One manager, Ana, stopped hovering. She delegated a project and said: “You’re in charge. This project is done when the client presentation covers three options with pros and cons, within budget, by next Friday. I’ll check in once mid-week. It’s yours beyond that.”
The employee hesitated. But because Ana wasn’t breathing down their neck, they had to figure it out. They made some missteps. The first draft was rough. But the final version? Solid.
More importantly, the employee learned. Next time, they needed less guidance. By the third project, they were handling it better than Ana ever did.
When you stop babysitting, two things happen:
- Your people grow.
- You finally get your time back.
Small Wins Without Overprotection
Letting go doesn’t mean leaving people to sink or swim. It means creating conditions where they can win small, then build from there.
- Frame the finish line. Give a clear “done” statement so they know where they’re headed.
- Set safe boundaries. Mark the edges they shouldn’t cross (budget limits, compliance rules).
- Give one safety net. A mid-point check-in is enough—just to make sure they aren’t going completely off track.
- Celebrate progress. Notice the small wins. “Good call updating that chart—that’s exactly what the client needs.”
You don’t have to protect them all the time. You just have to make sure their first run doesn’t end in disaster. Think of it as putting training wheels on the bike, not holding the handlebars forever.
A Story of a Manager Who Bet on People
Ramon once ran a team that was stuck in the parent/child dynamic. He double-checked every memo, corrected every slide, and answered every client email before sending. His people grew dependent.
One day, swamped by deadlines, Ramon decided to gamble. He handed full control of a client meeting to Leila, his most promising but still untested team member.
He said: “Leila, you run the meeting. The win is simple: get the client to agree on next quarter’s campaign focus. I’ll be in the room, but I won’t speak unless you ask me to.”
Leila stumbled at first. She paused too long, mis-explained one chart, and looked to Ramon for rescue. He stayed silent.
Then something clicked. She steadied her voice. She asked sharper questions. By the end, the client was nodding and agreed to the proposal.
Leila walked out taller. Ramon walked out freer.
That was the day he learned: delegation is not babysitting. It’s betting on someone’s potential and letting them rise.
How to Do It Well
If you’re ready to stop babysitting, here’s a simple play:
- Start with belief. Say out loud: “I trust you to handle this.” People rise when they feel believed in.
- Define the win. State what “done” looks like in one line. No hovering instructions—just the finish line.
- Open the doors. Give the authority, resources, and access they need. Don’t make them chase permission slips.
- Check once, not always. Agree on a mid-point review or milestone. Enough to guide, not enough to smother.
- Debrief after. Win or lose, talk through facts, feelings, and fixes. That’s where growth happens.
This way, you’re not throwing them off a cliff—but you’re not carrying them like a child either.
The Benefits of Doing the Opposite
When you stop babysitting and start betting, three big benefits show up:
- Confidence grows. Employees feel trusted and capable.
- Competence grows. Mistakes turn into lessons, and lessons turn into mastery.
- Capacity grows. You stop being the bottleneck, and the team starts moving faster than you ever could alone.
It’s not just about finishing today’s task. It’s about building tomorrow’s leaders.
The Shift That Matters
Delegation is not babysitting. It’s not hovering, correcting, or holding hands.
Delegation is a bet. It’s saying: “I trust you to own this. I’ll give you the tools, I’ll set the boundaries, but the win is yours.”
That’s how adults grow. That’s how teams thrive. That’s how managers finally step into real leadership.
Your Turn This Week
Think of one task you usually hover over. Instead of babysitting, bet on your person.
- Write a one-line “done” statement.
- Share boundaries and resources.
- Agree on one mid-point check-in.
- Then let them run.
When they wobble, don’t grab the handlebars. Let them steady themselves. You’ll be surprised how quickly they learn to ride.
What’s Next in the Delegation Game
The parent/child trap is one of the hardest to break. But once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
In the next article, we’ll tackle the fears that keep managers clinging to control—and how to dismantle them so you can truly lead, not just supervise.
Because delegation isn’t about keeping people safe. It’s about helping them grow strong.
