Delegate Like a Brave CEO
Book Giveaway!!
20 copies available!!
Leave a comment on this guest post by Catherine Roe to become eligible for one of 20 complimentary copies of her new book, No More 24/7: Entrepreneurs, Take Back Your Life.
Deadline for eligibility is 03/29/2025. International winners will receive electronic version.
Most business owners struggle to delegate. They hold to a “must-do-it-all” mentality.
The business owner’s mindset focuses on control. This leads owners to believe the business can’t operate without them. They micromanage their teams instead of freeing them to build their skills.
Owners burn out when they constantly work in the business instead of on it. They end up overwhelmed, stagnant, and unable to grow.
CEOs focus on strategic leadership. They delegate every task team members can perform. Delegating frees CEOs to focus on growth instead of day-to-day work.
CEOs eliminate burn out by building processes and systems. They enable businesses to run efficiently when they aren’t there.
How to delegate like a brave CEO:
#1. Identify tasks only you can do.
Keep track of everything you do for a week. Make one long list. Highlight the items only you can do. Do one of three things with tasks you didn’t highlight. Delegate. Automate. Or eliminate.
#2. Set clear expectations.
Help people understand purpose by giving them the big-picture story. Explain task clearly. Define objectives.
#3. Equip team members.
Provide everyone with the tools and training they need for success. Enhance their existing skills and help them develop new ones.
#4. Set people free.
Allow everyone the freedom to work without micromanaging. Letting go is difficult but worth it. Your business will run more effectively once you master the art of delegating.
What enables leaders to delegate?
BIO
Catherine Cowart Roe is a CPA and a management efficiency expert based in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has over fifteen years of experience in public accounting, business organization and management, and academia. She is the sole founder of Cowart Roe CPA, a concierge CPA firm, and Cowart Roe Academy, a business management and financial literacy education services provider. Her debut book, No More 24/7: Entrepreneurs, Take Back Your Life, guides entrepreneurs to reclaim their freedom with efficiency strategies.
These are awesome suggestions, there are many small companies that fail because the owner was working “in the business” and not “on the business”. The fatigue and burn out factor is tremendous. I feel that when I take time to truly disconnect from the business, even for a few hours or a day I come back with a more clear mind and perspective, better able to lead the team through the daily grind.
Great insights and very helpful in guide for both experienced and new leaders.
Whether in an entrepreneurial work environment or a structured corporate environment, delegation is an essential component of success and group engagement. The leader/owner simply can’t do it all. But sharing the process with other talented people on the team increases output, productivity and engagement. Everyone wants to share the successes of the organization.
As I have been looking at starting a new business, this is one of the things that is overwhelming to me… The amount of time that I spent in the last business has kept me at bay in launching the new venture. Ideas to make this less daunting is always on par.
As a school leader I am constantly out of the building. This book will help find more ways to delegate and build additional leaders!
Good morning Todd. Being out of the building is not always a bad thing as long as it is all part of your plan of action for the day. It would be nice if everything went on as scheduled, but when you work in a school setting, anything can happen. Good luck!
A great reminder with strategic steps to avoid burnout. Needed to see this today.
This is something I struggle with. I have gotten better at work life balance but letting go of certain responsibilities is always difficult. This was great information for today and every day!
This sounds like my next book to read! The initial ideas sound like a great place to start!
I look forward to engaging with how this book may help build capacity in my team and free me to focus on the strategic aspects of my role!
Thank you for the guest post, Catherine! I would be keen to read the book. 🙂
Making a list of weekly tasks is a great practical idea! Also I have said for years that no one is on 24/7 not should be! God rested 1 out of 7 days and we are not greater than Him!! 😊
That’s great if you have the opportunity. Sometimes, they just won’t give you that much authority or allow you to hire any help to delegate to.
Delegation demonstrates trust and builds muscle for succession plans.
Especially if you are President/CEO of an organization of a certain size and one staffing change means, you are immediately back in the weeds. We need to constantly remind ourselves that delegation also builds a strong bench for those exact scenarios.
Some of the most creative ideas and outcomes are the result of proper delegation.
This looks like a great book! Love the points made. Delegation has always been a struggle for me as a leader. The line between giving others some tasks I don’t necessarily need to do nor have time to do and giving team members tasks just to get them off my plate because I don’t want to do them, has always been hard. Not because I feel that I am giving them mundane tasks I don’t want, but because I worry about the perception that I am only delegating because I don’t want to do something. Silly, I know, but it is a struggle and because of it, I stay overwhelmed and too busy while others aren’t working nearly as hard or as long.
Greetings,
This is an excellent summary of the why and how of delegating.
An interesting thing about thoughtful, tactical, delegating is that it serves to support the emotional intelligence of leaders (and team members), as it equips them with methods/tools to not just get work done (well) but also, and just as importantly, to do so in a climate of reaching out to team members, including team members, and growing team members.
The self-regulation (a significant EQ skill) required to delegate (especially if one struggles with control) gets exercised every time one skillfully delegates.
Thank you for sharing the valuable teachings in this post!
robert
EOS communicates this idea as ‘Delegate and Elevate’. Fantastic encouragement for all leaders and a lesson that I have yet to learn and implement.
I constantly struggle with this exact thing! Not only my main job, but also my Airbnb. I know I have control issues and therefore, don’t do well delegating. I feel that I am either too busy to show someone the way a task should be performed, and if I do find the time, I don’t feel that they will perform to my expectations. I just don’t know who I can just let it go and not worry about it!
This is something I struggle with greatly as a Childcare Director. I feel at times that the team would rather I just “handle” things or look to me for the solution rather than come up with the solutions themselves. These ideas are putting into perspective that I need to set firmer expectations and build confidence in my team.
Having been in full-time ministry for 25+ years I have seen many good leaders, rise and fall on these principles! Thank you for assimilating all of this into one beautiful guide of how to manage the work life rhythm! I can’t wait to read and share this with my team!
Great post! When you are working alone your success is a result of how good you are, when you have a team your success is down to how well you develop your team, they need to get better so that you can move up a level. I see many managers/leaders struggle with letting go of control and taking everything on themselves because they don’t trust others and then wonder why they are overwhelmed.
As the owner of a brand new business, this subject matter resonates with me! Looking forward to reading the book.
Efficiency is the hot topic right now as the administration focuses to cut costs. New leaders are adapting to an ever changing environment where they need to delegate and use automation to preserve their energy for for optimal efficiency.
These are great insights! Looking forward to learning more and reading the book, and then paying it forward and sharing with someone else!
it takes courage to implement true delegation that includes power and decision making authority. start with trust and continue to give trust until it is no longer warranted.
in the public sector the vast majority of middle management and plenty of higher management rose up through the ranks. They were selected because they were good at what they did (not the belief that they would be good at what they were being promoted to do) so when they are promoted, they often stick with what they know, the work they always did.
Looking forward to improving on this skill so we can flourish.
Leading is building on culture + stategy.
Delegation is a delicate task. It is not dump duties to people who work for you but to enable and empower them to do the task. If there are any jobs that an employee can do it at 80% as well as you do, consider delegating it. We cannot do it alone. One is too small of a number for significance.
Love the ideas presented here. Do-it-all leaders also seem to withhold information that makes it difficult for others to successfully complete tasks that could be delegated. This lack of clarity leads to rework and dissatisfaction among employees, I believe the two are related.
As a newly supervisor, I struggled to delegate tasks to my team members as I thought I was assisting the team by pulling my share of the workload. I soon realized that I was hindering the team by doing so and by delegating, it soon empowered my team and created a better foundation to build trust. I no longer have the ‘guilt’ feeling in delegating a task when it’s clearly better suited for my team to handle.
I really appreciate how this post offers a valuable perspective on the importance of delegation for business owners, all the while highlighting the shift from a “must-do-it-all” mentality to strategic leadership. The steps outlined, such as identifying tasks to delegate, setting clear expectations, equipping team members, and giving them autonomy, provide actionable advice for leaders looking to grow their businesses effectively. Quite simply, by focusing on delegation, leaders can avoid burnout and foster a more efficient and sustainable business environment. Thank you for this straightforward and realistic approach.
“Delegate. Automate. Or eliminate.” Phew! SOUNDS easy…
Delegation is game changing. It is true that learning to delegate makes you a stronger leader of a stronger team. I love the idea of the list to delegate, automate or eliminate!
It’s awesome to see a giveaway of Catherine’s new book! I’ve gotten to spend time with her because we have mutual friends in New Orleans. I’m looking forward to reading it!
When you’re “working” in the daily grind there isn’t time for strategizing and big-picture thinking.
This is something that I definitely find challenging!
As doctoral candidate, a mom of 3, and a high school principal I am seeking that balance. Sounds like a great read!
Wonderful post and some great insights! Looking forward to reading the book!
Great helpful comments. I also use a barometer about what not to delegate: Obvious supervisor to subordinate responsibilities, tasks that involve confidential information, tasks that involve great risk, or tasks that the organization and/or your supervisor expects you to do yourself. Some of these may have an exception or two, but they at least give pause and make you evaluate what your are delegating. Thank you for the thoughts today and the help freeing up some of our time!
Delegation is so hard for some. This is a learned skill. Great to see a book.
A Powerful Reminder on the Importance of Delegation and Strategic Leadership.
This message truly hits home—it’s a concept that often gets overlooked but is absolutely essential. The reminder that CEOs should focus on strategic leadership rather than day-to-day tasks is both timely and impactful. Delegation isn’t just a productivity tool—it’s a leadership necessity.
By empowering their teams and building efficient systems, CEOs not only prevent burnout but also create businesses that can thrive independently of their constant oversight. This approach allows leaders to focus on growth, vision, and long-term strategy, rather than being caught in the weeds.
A great takeaway: sustainable leadership is about working smarter, not harder—and creating a structure that supports success, even in your absence.
I work at a non-profit that is a turnaround. I know I spend too much time working at the expense of my family, health, and friends. This post is a timely reminder that I need to “Take Back my Life.”
CEOs and chief executives frequently find themselves entangled in conflicts stemming from organizational interests and policies. Communication gaps can exacerbate mistrust, leading to a detrimental impact on overall motivation that permeates throughout the organization.
I currently struggle with delegation within my team. These tips are very helpful to get me started in the right direction on projects.
Amazing article! As a new principal, I’ve been trying to strike a balance between accountability and micromanagement in order to delegate effectively. I’m learning that setting clear expectations is a collaborative dialogue: one that fosters mutual clarity and builds team buy-in toward our shared goals
Great points to remember. I have always felt that I could lead if I was always chasing. It is sometimes difficult to stop chasing when you are in the thick of it. These ideas presented will help assess the situation and gain clarity. Thanks.
I meant to say “couldn’t lead” if I was always chasing. Guess I still need to stop chasing and return to focus, ha!
It needn’t have to be the CEO. I used to be HOD in my corporate days, and despite having set clear expectations to the team, became dragged down by the lack of ability of my subordinates to communicate clearly through their writing in their reports due to their varied education levels of the English language. Burnout followed when all things had to be filtered by me. After taking time off and working remotely, I did #3 and gradually things began to improve so that I can do #4.
Very insightful and great advice- I will be forwarding to a couple of people. Will enjoy reading more and subscribing.
Very interested in learning more!