Outsourcing doesn’t outsource accountability
Description
Delegating and outsourcing is both smart and strategic. It gives you back time, brings in expertise and keeps things moving. Here’s what it doesn’t do though: remove responsibility. No matter how much you hand off, the results still land on your plate. And when something falls through the cracks, people do not ask who was supposed to handle it. They look to the one in charge.
Should we then micromanage tasks we’ve delegated or outsourced? Not at all. But staying involved is still needed. Outsourcing doesn’t mean checking out. When you’re building something like a business, a product, a reputation, your name is still tied to the outcome. No contract changes that.
Should we then micromanage tasks we’ve delegated or outsourced? Not at all. But staying involved is still needed. Outsourcing doesn’t mean checking out. When you’re building something like a business, a product, a reputation, your name is still tied to the outcome. No contract changes that.
Summary
Outsourcing can lighten the workload, but it does not erase accountability. The moment you decide to hand something off, you are still tied to what happens next. Because leadership is not just about delegating tasks. It also involves owning results even when someone else was supposed to handle it.
No one is saying you should therefore do everything yourself. You just need to build a system that works, with people you trust and to stay close enough to know when something is off. Being hands-off is not the same as being absent. And when you are the one steering the ship, every choice, delegated or not, is still yours to answer for.
