The Power of Delegating: What to Let Go of and What to Keep

Your time is limited. If you're handling everything yourself, your business can only grow as much as your schedule allows. Delegation frees you up to focus on what moves your business forward, rather than getting stuck in day-to-day operations.

Many of the tasks you’re holding onto are probably things you don’t enjoy or aren’t the best use of your time. If you’re spending hours managing admin work, you’re essentially paying yourself to do tasks someone else could handle more efficiently.

Delegation isn’t just a leadership skill—it’s a business multiplier. A Gallup study found that CEOs who excel at delegation grew their companies 112% faster over three years than those who struggled to let go.

Understanding Delegation

Before diving into what to delegate, it helps to clarify the delegate's meaning in a business context. Delegation is the process of assigning tasks or responsibilities to others while maintaining accountability for the final outcome. It’s not about offloading work randomly—it’s about strategic task distribution to optimize efficiency.

What Should You Delegate?

The hardest part of delegation isn’t handing off the task—it’s deciding what to let go of. Here are some questions to help you figure it out:

• Delegate Your Weak Spots: Start by outsourcing tasks where you lack expertise. Branson knew accounting wasn’t his strength, so he found someone better suited for the job.
• Prioritize Core Tasks: Mission-critical tasks should stay on your plate. But things like scheduling, invoicing, and CRM updates? Those can be passed along.
• Automate Where Possible: If a system can do it for you, there’s no need to waste human hours. Automated email responses, appointment scheduling, and expense tracking are all great candidates.
• Hand Off Routine Work: If it follows a clear process and doesn’t require constant judgment calls, it’s a great task to delegate. If you’re constantly reviewing and tweaking someone’s work, they might not be the right fit.

Overcoming Barriers to Delegation

Even when you know you should delegate, it’s easy to hesitate. The biggest roadblocks?

• Fear of losing control
• Worrying that no one will do it as well as you
• Believing it’s easier just to do it yourself

The reality is, that holding onto everything stunts both your business and your leadership. The more you empower your team (or a Virtual Assistant), the more you free yourself to work on strategy, client relationships, and growth.

How to Delegate Task Effectively

Delegation isn’t just about offloading work—it’s about setting others up for success. Here’s how to do it right:

• Define the outcome. Be clear about what needs to be done, the deadline, and the quality standard.
• Provide resources. Ensure the person has the tools, training, and support they need to succeed.
• Give authority. Allow them to make decisions within their role. Micromanaging defeats the purpose.
• Check in, but don’t hover. Keep communication open, but don’t get stuck in the weeds.
• Accept that mistakes will happen. Learning curves are part of the process. Give feedback, adjust, and move on.
• Acknowledge wins. Recognizing when someone handles a task well boosts confidence and encourages ownership.

Effective Delegation Methods

1. Direct Assignment Assign specific tasks to an individual with clear instructions, deadlines, and expectations. Best for routine or repetitive tasks.

2. SMART Task Delegation Use the SMART framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to ensure clear and effective delegation.

3. Role-Based Delegation Assign tasks based on predefined roles and responsibilities, ensuring each team member knows their scope of work.

4. When deciding which tasks to delegate, the Eisenhower Decision Matrix helps separate what truly requires your attention from what can be handled by others.

• Urgent & Important: Handle these immediately yourself (e.g., critical client issues).
• Important but Not Urgent: Schedule these for later but avoid neglecting them (e.g., strategic planning, training).
• Urgent but Not Important: Delegate these to a Virtual Assistant or team member (e.g., responding to routine emails, scheduling meetings).
• Neither Urgent Nor Important: Eliminate these to free up your time (e.g., excessive social media scrolling, and non-essential tasks).

5. Outcome-Based Delegation Instead of micromanaging, focus on the expected outcome and let the team determine the best way to complete the task.

6. Collaborative Delegation Use project management tools like Trello, Asana, or ClickUp to assign tasks, track progress, and ensure accountability.

7. Training-Based Delegation If a task requires upskilling, provide training before delegation to ensure efficiency and accuracy.

Delegate to Virtual Assistants

If you’re not ready to hire full-time staff, a Virtual Assistant is a smart way to start delegating. They can handle:

• Managing your calendar
• Booking travel
• Organizing expense reports
• CRM data entry
• Inbox and email management
• Following up on sales leads

The best part? A good Virtual Assistant doesn’t just take tasks off your plate—it improves workflows and helps your business run more smoothly.

Ready to stop doing everything yourself? Start small, delegate wisely, and watch how much more you can accomplish.