Delegating Isn’t Leading—Until You Let Go of Control

Delegating Isn’t Leading—Until You Let Go of Control

Episode Description 

Are you delegating… or just redistributing your to-do list?

In this episode of Things Leaders Do, Colby Morris breaks down the difference between delegating tasks and developing leaders. Drawing from Craig Groeschel’s principle that “you don’t delegate tasks to create leaders, you delegate authority,” this episode helps you make the shift from micromanagement to real leadership development.

Colby shares a simple 3-step delegation framework, along with real stories of how handing over ownership—not just responsibility—transforms teams and unlocks leadership potential.

If you’re feeling burned out, constantly followed up with, or unsure why your team isn’t stepping up, this episode will help you create the clarity, structure, and trust your team needs to grow.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why delegating tasks doesn’t develop your team
• The mindset shift required to delegate authority, not just execution
• A clear 3-step delegation framework you can apply today
• How to set parameters that empower your team without losing control
• What real people-first delegation looks like—and why it builds future leaders

Leadership Challenge This Week:

Look at your calendar or task list. Choose one responsibility you’ve been holding too tightly.
 Define success, set guardrails, and delegate not just the task—but the authority to own it.
 Then check in by asking, “What support do you need from me?”
 That’s where leadership begins.

Need Help Developing Leaders in Your Organization?

Colby offers coaching, team trainings, and keynote speaking for leadership teams who want to build people-first, high-performance cultures.
 To connect, visit:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbymorris/

Website:  nxtstepadvisors.com

Enjoying the Show?

If this episode helped you lead better, please leave a review and share it with another leader. That’s how we grow this movement—together.

• Colby's LinkedIn Profile
• Things Leaders Do Instagram

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here's a question for you when was the last time you
delegated something to your teamand then found yourself
checking on it like three timesbefore lunch?
If you're nodding right now,you're not alone and, honestly,
you're probably not reallydelegating at all.
Leaders, and welcome back tothe TLD Podcast.

(00:27):
I'm Colby Morris and I'm herealongside you in this messy,
beautiful work of leading people.
Well, today we're talking aboutsomething that trips up almost
every leader I know yes,including me.
We think we're delegating, butwe're really just redistributing
our to-do list.
Before we dive in, let me askyou something else how are you

(00:49):
feeling about your leadershipright now?
I mean, really, are youenergized by developing your
people or are you exhausted fromdoing everyone's job?
If you're in that second camp,stick with me.
We're going to talk about whydelegation feels so hard and,
more importantly, what actuallyworks.

(01:10):
And hey, if this conversationhelps you lead better today,
would you do me a favor andleave a review wherever you're
listening and then share thiswith another leader who could
use it?
That's how we grow this thingand make leadership better for
all of us.
So here's what I've learned thehard way Delegating tasks

(01:32):
doesn't make you a great leader.
In fact, it might not beleadership at all.
Craig Rochelle puts itperfectly you don't delegate
tasks to create leaders.
You delegate authority.
When I heard that, honestly, Ifelt a little defensive because
I thought I was already doingthat.

(01:53):
I was handing things off leftand right.
But then I had to ask myselfsome tough questions.
Was my team just checking boxesor were they actually growing?
Were they making decisions orwere they just following my
playbook?
And if I disappeared for a week, would they thrive or would

(02:16):
everything fall apart?
The answers weren't pretty.
Here's what I realized weren'tpretty.
Here's what I realized mypeople weren't growing because I
wasn't giving them the room togrow.
I was delegating work but notownership, and there's a huge
difference.
Think about it this way If youhave kids, you don't teach them

(02:40):
to ride a bike by having themsit on it while you hold the
handlebars and push them aroundthe block.
At some point, you have to letgo and let them wobble a little.
It's the same thing withleadership.
At some point, you have to letyour people make some decisions
and yes, some mistakes on theirown.

(03:03):
Let me give you some realexamples of what I'm talking
about.
Most of us delegate like thishey Sarah, can you send that
report to the client by 3 pm?
Make sure you use that templatefrom last month and just copy
me on the email.
That's task delegation.
Sarah learns nothing except howto follow instructions.
But what if, instead, you saidfollow instructions?

(03:32):
But what if instead you saidhey Sarah, now I want you to be
the point person for our monthlyclient communications.
You decide the format, thetiming and the messaging.
Here's the outcome.
We need Strong clientrelationships and clear project
updates.
How do you think we shouldapproach it?
You feel the difference In thesecond example.
Sarah has to think, create andown the result.

(03:54):
Now I know what some of you arethinking.
But, colby, what if they messit up?
What if they do it differentlythan I would?
Here's my question back to you.
So what I'm not saying bereckless, but I am saying that
your way is not the only way andsometimes stay with me here.

(04:18):
Their way might actually bebetter.
I remember when I first startedgiving my marketing person full
authority over our social mediastrategy.
Really, my first instinct wasto review every post, change
every caption, but when Istepped back and I just let her

(04:40):
run with it, our engagement wentup, not just by a little bit,
but by like 40%.
It turns out she understood ouraudience a little better than I
did.
Okay, so how do we actually dothis?
Let me give you a simpleframework.
I use Three steps that makedelegation feel less scary and

(05:04):
more strategic.
Okay, step one just paint thepicture.
Okay, paint the picture.
Don't just tell them what to do.
Help them see what successlooks like, instead of update
the spreadsheet, try.
Our goal is to have real-timevisibility into project status

(05:25):
so we can catch problems early.
And then, step two set theguardrails.
Okay, this part isn't aboutmicromanaging, it's about
clarity.
If they're making financialdecisions, what's the limit?
If they're handling clientissues, what requires your input

(05:45):
?
You have to give them a sandboxthey can play in freely.
I had a leader recently tell herteam you have full authority to
make any necessary purchasesunder $200.
If you need something, don'twait on me.
And you know what it worked.
A few days later she called meand said Colby, it was amazing.

(06:08):
A safety issue came up at oneof our locations.
Normally that would havehijacked my whole morning
tracking down what to buy,placing the order, following up,
but my team member just handledit Bought what was needed for a
little over $100, kept everyonesafe and then told me, after

(06:28):
the whole thing took two minutesof my day, a quick phone call
because I had already given herthat authority.
That's the power of clearguardrails Everyone knows what
they own.
And then step three hear me getout of the way.

(06:50):
This is the hardest part for somany leaders, me included.
Check in, but don't hover.
Ask something more like what doyou need from me?
Instead of here's what youshould do next, when you step
back, you give your people spaceto grow and yourself space to

(07:12):
lead.
Now you're saying why does thismatter so much?
Well, here's what happens whenyou delegate authority and not
just tasks.
Your people start thinking likeowners, not employees.
They start solving problemsinstead of just reporting them.
They start growing into leaders, not just task completers.

(07:36):
And, honestly, you finallystopped being the bottleneck.
I remember a team member who hadbeen quiet and hesitant for
months.
She was dependable, but notreally driving much change.
I gave her full ownership overa cross-team project and told
her hey, this is yours, youdecide how we move forward.

(07:59):
Not only did she own it, sheexceeded every timeline.
She rallied in the entire team.
She had people coming to herfor guidance.
She went from solid contributorto emerging leader because she
was trusted to lead that shift.

(08:21):
That's what we're after.
And here's something beautifulthat happens when you develop
leaders this way Successionplanning becomes automatic.
You don't have to wonder who'sready for the next role.
You already know, becauseyou've seen how they lead when
they're given the space toactually lead and, let's be

(08:43):
honest, it's how you take a realvacation without worrying your
phone is going to explode.
When you've built decisionmakers, you can unplug without
fear that everything will fallapart the moment you do.
But more than that, this iswhat a people first leader does.
It takes a mentally strong,self-confident leader to do this

(09:07):
, one who knows that leadershipisn't about hoarding control.
It's about creating moreleaders, even the ones who might
one day succeed you.
That's real leadership.
So here's what I want you to trythis week, and I mean this

(09:28):
literally, not in theory Open upyour calendar or your task list
and find one task you've beenholding on way too tightly.
It could be a recurring report,client communication, a vendor
follow-up anything that keepsending up in your hands.

(09:50):
Now I want you to define theoutcome.
What does success actually looklike.
Set the boundaries, whatdecisions are in their court and
what needs to come back to you,and then hear me hand it off
fully.
Let them drive, let them askquestions, but let them own it

(10:14):
At your next check-in.
Resist the urge to take it back.
Instead, ask something likewhat support do you need from me
?
That moment, right, there iswhere leadership starts to grow.
Before we wrap up, let me askyou one more question.
What kind of leader do you wantto be remembered as?

(10:42):
The one who did everythingperfectly, or the one who
developed other people to lead?
Delegating authority takescourage.
It means trusting people beforethey're perfect, did you?
hear me, it means trustingpeople before they're perfect.
It means being okay with thingsnot always being done your way,

(11:05):
but the payoff You're not justgetting things off your plate.
You're building the kind ofleaders who will one day replace
you, and that's the highestcompliment to your leadership.
If you're working on developingleaders and need support
whether it's coaching, trainingyour team or bringing me in to

(11:27):
speak I'd love to help.
You'll find that link in theshow notes and remember you're
not just managing tasks, you'rebuilding leaders.
And you know why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.

Speaker 2 (11:48):
Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do.
If you're looking for more tipson how to be a better leader,
be sure to subscribe to thepodcast and listen to next
week's episode.
Until next time, keep workingon being a better leader by
doing the things that leaders do.