Problem: Leaders often waste time on tasks that others could handle, limiting their focus on high-impact work.

Solution: Delegate responsibilities thoughtfully, allowing the team to grow while freeing up leaders for more strategic tasks.

If you’re spending long hours on tasks you don’t enjoy or tasks that don’t truly require your involvement, it may be time to delegate. Learning how to delegate effectively can free up your time for high-impact decisions, boost team engagement, and improve overall productivity.

Tools:

• To delegate effectively, first identify which tasks truly need your attention and which can be entrusted to others. Use the Important/Urgent framework to guide your decisions. This is sometimes called the Eisenhower Matrix.

Not Important but Urgent: Delegate these tasks right away. They require action but not necessarily your expertise.	Important & Urgent: Handle these yourself, as they likely involve immediate, high-impact decisions.
Not Important & Not Urgent: Evaluate if these tasks are necessary. If so, delegate or automate where possible.	Important but Not Urgent: Consider delegating these to develop your team’s skills, freeing your time for strategic work.

• When you delegate thoughtfully, you create space for your team to grow and for you to concentrate on what truly moves the organization forward.
• When you start delegating, you can practice by employing the CLEAR framework for delegation.
• Context: Provide background so your team understands the importance of the task.
• Limits: Set clear boundaries and clarify constraints.
• Expectations: Define priorities, timelines, and deliverables for clear direction.
• Accountability: Specify who owns each aspect of the task.
• Review: Give feedback for continuous improvement and recognition of results.
• Create a Playbook Library
• When you delegate something, keep track of how you did it. Share your “playbooks” with your teammates in the Single Source of Truth.
• Remember that any questions asked an answered should go in the Single Source of Truth.
• Make sure your check-ins are consistent, so you feel confident about the items you delegated. Communicate your expectations of proactive feedback — make sure you’re not babysitting your employees. Have them reach out to you with updates without you asking.