Why Your Delegation Methods Lead to Burnout.

Let’s get honest.

You’re exhausted, your to-do list’s on fire, and everyone keeps telling you to “just delegate.”

Just like life and babies, people will freely give you business advice. Most of the time, don’t listen. Why do you think 97% of all companies fail? I digress.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth most leadership books skip:
You can’t delegate what you haven’t defined.

If your role isn’t clear to you, it won’t be clear to your team. Delegation fails not because your team can’t handle it, but because you handed them an umbrella in a tornado.

This isn’t about task lists. This is about ownership.
And if you're stuck here, you're not alone.

I can’t tell you how many times I passed something off because I was sick of looking at it, and just wanted it off my desk. My patience ran out, so I didn’t even want to give someone proper instructions.

 🧠 1. The Real Problem: You Don’t Know What You Do Well Enough To Pass It Off.

Ask most business owners, “What do you do every day?”
You’ll get a vague answer. Some version of,

And that’s the trap.
If your role is a moving target, you’ll never build a team that can reliably support you.
You’ll hand off a few tasks, but they boomerang right back when something goes wrong.

Why?
Because what you’re doing isn’t delegation, it’s escape.

You start as everything in your company, but let’s be honest, you aren’t the be-all and end-all of everything you have been doing. Time to drop the ego if you want to scale.

⛓️‍💥 2. Why This Fails Every Time

Here’s what’s really going on under the hood:

• You’re delegating before you’re ready to lead.
  Most owners skip the prep work. No defined outcomes, no SOPs, no training wheels. Just “go figure it out.” Then they’re surprised when it blows up.

• You treat delegation like a handoff instead of a trust transfer.
  Real delegation isn’t just giving someone a task. It’s giving them the clarity, tools, and confidence to own it.

• You haven’t developed the people you're delegating to.
  You can't expect pro-level results from a team that’s never been coached. And let’s be honest—coaching takes time. That’s why it gets skipped.

This isn’t a skill issue.
It’s a leadership capacity issue.
It’s your clarity, your systems, and your communication that sets the tone.

 💊 3. What to Do Instead, and Get Clear Before You Let Go

Delegation only works when you first do the work of defining your role.

Start by mapping the chaos. Here's how:

1. List everything you currently do in your business.
Be brutal. Open your calendar, email, Slack, and brain. Don’t hold back.

2. Categorize it into three buckets:

• Keep – strategic decisions only you can make

• Train – things you could hand off with the proper prep

• Trash – tasks that don’t move the needle and should be eliminated or automated

3. Circle anything that’s fuzzy.
If you can’t clearly define what success looks like for that task, stop delegating it. That’s where the fire starts.

Ownership means slowing down to speed up.
Define it. Then delegate it. That’s how you earn your time back without burning out your team or yourself.

You can't scale chaos.
Escape, and build calm, clarity, and control.

⌚ Your 5-Minute Challenge

Run the Role Reality Check

Right now, before your next call or scroll…

Step 1: Take out a blank sheet or open a notes app.
Step 2: List the last 10 things you did today.
Step 3: Ask yourself:

• Was that CEO work, or catch-up work?

• Could someone else have done this with training?

• What would have happened if I hadn’t done it?

Step 4: Circle one thing you’re doing that shouldn’t be yours anymore.
Make a note: What would need to be true for me to hand this off confidently?

That’s your signal. That’s your next leadership move.

What task are you firing yourself from? Reply and tell me. (Warning: The relief can be addictive.)

🤔 REFLECT: Your Turn

❓ What’s one task you keep doing because it’s easier than teaching someone else?

❓ Is your leadership style creating freedom or friction for the people around you?

Share your story at [email protected].

Stay awesome, stay confident, and keep soaring higher!

— Cheering you on, Nick