Ever delegate something, only to have it boomerang back to your desk?
You hand it off. They nod. They seem to get it.
And a week later, you’re cleaning up the mess — or worse, doing it yourself because “it’s just faster if I handle it.”

Sound familiar?

That’s not delegation. That’s delayed micromanaging.

And it’s one of the biggest reasons smart, capable leaders stay stuck in firefighting mode.

I was working with a client — let’s call him Raj — a VP running a massive product team in a global tech company.

Raj is brilliant. He can see around corners. But his calendar? It looked like a dumping ground for every unresolved task on his team.

“Why am I doing my directors’ jobs?” he asked me.

We pulled up one of his projects — a high-stakes product launch.
Turns out, he’d delegated parts of it.

But here’s the problem:
He’d delegated tasks.
Not ownership.

So his team came back for every small decision. Every change in direction. Every approval.

In his words: “It feels like I’m still doing 80% of the work. Just with extra steps.”

Why does this happen?

Because most leaders treat delegation like an offload.
“Here’s the thing. Go do it. Check back with me when you’re stuck.”

It feels safer. Feels like you’re in control. Feels like you’re “protecting the outcome.”

But really? You’re protecting nothing.
You’ve just moved the bottleneck one layer away — and added delays to every decision.

And here’s the cost:
Your team never learns to make decisions.
You stay buried in approvals and fixes.
And the work isn’t actually getting done faster — it’s just bouncing around more.

So what does real delegation look like?

It’s not “hand it off and hope.”

It’s designing a system where your people know what success looks like, how much authority they have, and when they actually need you.

Here’s the key: Delegation is about clarity and trust — not supervision.

When you delegate right:

• People own the outcome, not just the task.
  

• They know when to make the call and when to escalate.
  

• You get out of the weeds and stay focused on the real work only you can do.
  
  

So how do you make that shift?

Try This:

1. Define the finish line.
   Next time you delegate, don’t hand over a checklist. Say:
   “Here’s what success looks like. How would you get us there?”
   It puts the ownership — and the creativity — back on them.
   
   

2. Set decision boundaries.
   Use this simple frame:
   “You can decide on anything under $X / within these parameters. If it falls outside that, bring it to me.”
   Now they’re not frozen waiting for your approval — but they know when to involve you.
   
   

3. Do a delegation post-mortem.
   Pick one thing you delegated in the last 30 days that boomeranged back. Ask: Where did the breakdown happen — clarity, trust, or authority? Fix that in your next handoff.
   
   

When Raj started using this approach, something clicked.

He stopped handing out assignments like candy.
Instead, he started designing ownership.

The result? His directors moved faster. They didn’t need his sign-off for every little thing. And when they did come to him, it was for the big, strategic decisions — the ones only he should own.

And for the first time in months, Raj told me: “I’m actually doing my job again — not everyone else’s.”

Here’s the bigger shift:
"Delegation without clarity isn’t delegation. It’s babysitting with extra steps."

If you’re delegating without clarity and boundaries, you’re not really delegating.
You’re just delaying the inevitable moment when the work comes right back to you.

But when you build real delegation systems — with clear outcomes, authority levels, and expectations — your team moves faster without breaking things.

And you finally get to do the work you’re actually paid to do.

Want help building these systems?
Book a free Leadership Clarity Call.
In 45 minutes, we’ll map out what only you should own — and design a delegation system that finally takes you out of the bottleneck role.