“If I don’t do it myself, it won’t be done right.”
If you’ve said that, even just in your head, this blog is for you.
You’re drowning in tasks. Your days are full. Your to-do list could make a grown man cry.
But when someone offers to help? You flinch.
You’ve tried delegating before… and got burnt.
The ball got dropped. The work came back wrong. You landed up redoing it anyway and wasting more time than if you’d just done it yourself.
Sound familiar?
You’re not alone. But here’s the truth:
Delegation isn’t the problem. Your system is.
THe Myth: Delegation = Letting Go
Too many business owners see delegation as a surrender of control.
But real delegation isn’t letting go, it’s setting up.
And if you’re doing it right, it doesn’t feel like risk. It feels like relief.
So how do you hand over work without it coming back worse?
5 Mistakes You’re Making With Delegation
Let’s break down the most common traps:
1. You delegate outcomes, not steps
“Just get it done” isn’t a brief. It’s a recipe for confusion.
✅ Fix it: Break the task down. Show your process. Use voice notes, emails, screenshots — whatever works. Give the why and the how.
2. You throw, instead of teach
You delegate once, it fails, and you never try again.
✅ Fix it: Don’t just hand over — onboard. Give people time to learn. Expect mistakes at the start. Stay close enough to catch them, not control them.
3. You hire people and expect mind readers
Even smart people need structure.
✅ Fix it: Create simple checklists or SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). These don’t need to be pretty, just consistent.
4. You confuse delegation with abdication
Delegation is handing over a task with expectations and feedback.
Abdication is disappearing and blaming the result.
✅ Fix it: Stay involved, but in a guiding role, not a doing role. Book check-ins. Celebrate wins. Course-correct early.
5. You’re delegating the wrong stuff
You give away the “fun” creative stuff… and hold onto low-value admin. Backwards.
✅ Fix it: Keep the high-value, high-impact tasks only you can do. Delegate the rest. Start with a time-value audit (like we shared here).
The Playbook You Actually Need
Want to start delegating this week without breaking things?
Here’s a simple LEGO-style model I use with clients:
| Task | Is it recurring? | Is it documented? | Can someone else do it 80% as well? | Delegate it? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ➕ Create a step-by-step SOP and delegate |
| Social Posts | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ➕ Use a template, brief once, then hand over |
| Sales Strategy | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ Keep this one on your desk |
| Emails | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ➕ Start with templated replies and automation |
You don’t need 10 people. You just need 1 person who can start freeing up your headspace with clarity and structure.
What This Means for Growth
If you can’t delegate, you can’t scale.
You’ll always be the bottleneck. Always at capacity. Always wondering why it’s so hard to grow.
But when you learn how to delegate well with systems, onboarding, and structure, your business becomes lighter, Smarter and scalable.
Run a Delegation Sprint
For the next 7 days:
- Track your daily tasks
- Highlight the repeatable ones
- Create one simple process (voice note, checklist, or Whatsapp video)
- Hand it off with a test task
- Give feedback and refine
That’s it. Repeat this each week, and within a month, you’ve offloaded 30% of your mental clutter.
Want Help Building Your Delegation Playbook?
This is the exact work I do with business owners every week.
I help you:
- Identify what to keep vs. what to delegate
- Build simple repeatable systems
- Train the right people the right way
Because when delegation works, everything starts to feel easier.
Final Question:
What’s one task you’re holding onto that you could train someone else to do this week?
Let’s build your legacy Together
Book a free call to chat about where you need help
