Things Leaders Do

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

• Colby Morris

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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.


Speaker 1:

Here's a question for you when was the last time you delegated something to your team and then found yourself checking on it like three times before lunch? If you're nodding right now, you're not alone and, honestly, you're probably not really delegating at all. Leaders, and welcome back to the TLD Podcast. I'm Colby Morris and I'm here alongside you in this messy, beautiful work of leading people. Well, today we're talking about something that trips up almost every leader I know yes, including me. We think we're delegating, but we're really just redistributing our to-do list. Before we dive in, let me ask you something else how are you feeling about your leadership right now? I mean, really, are you energized by developing your people or are you exhausted from doing everyone's job? If you're in that second camp, stick with me. We're going to talk about why delegation feels so hard and, more importantly, what actually works. And hey, if this conversation helps you lead better today, would you do me a favor and leave a review wherever you're listening and then share this with another leader who could use it? That's how we grow this thing and make leadership better for all of us. So here's what I've learned the hard way Delegating tasks doesn't make you a great leader. In fact, it might not be leadership at all. Craig Rochelle puts it perfectly you don't delegate tasks to create leaders. You delegate authority.

Speaker 1:

When I heard that, honestly, I felt a little defensive because I thought I was already doing that. I was handing things off left and right. But then I had to ask myself some tough questions. Was my team just checking boxes or were they actually growing? Were they making decisions or were they just following my playbook? And if I disappeared for a week, would they thrive or would everything fall apart? The answers weren't pretty. Here's what I realized weren't pretty. Here's what I realized my people weren't growing because I wasn't giving them the room to grow. I was delegating work but not ownership, and there's a huge difference. Think about it this way If you have kids, you don't teach them to ride a bike by having them sit on it while you hold the handlebars and push them around the block. At some point, you have to let go and let them wobble a little. It's the same thing with leadership. At some point, you have to let your people make some decisions and yes, some mistakes on their own.

Speaker 1:

Let me give you some real examples of what I'm talking about. Most of us delegate like this hey Sarah, can you send that report to the client by 3 pm? Make sure you use that template from last month and just copy me on the email. That's task delegation. Sarah learns nothing except how to follow instructions. But what if, instead, you said follow instructions? But what if instead you said hey Sarah, now I want you to be the point person for our monthly client communications. You decide the format, the timing and the messaging. Here's the outcome. We need Strong client relationships and clear project updates.

Speaker 1:

How do you think we should approach it? You feel the difference In the second example. Sarah has to think, create and own the result. Now I know what some of you are thinking. But, colby, what if they mess it up? What if they do it differently than I would? Here's my question back to you. So what I'm not saying be reckless, but I am saying that your way is not the only way and sometimes stay with me here. Their way might actually be better.

Speaker 1:

I remember when I first started giving my marketing person full authority over our social media strategy. Really, my first instinct was to review every post, change every caption, but when I stepped back and I just let her run with it, our engagement went up, not just by a little bit, but by like 40%. It turns out she understood our audience a little better than I did. Okay, so how do we actually do this? Let me give you a simple framework. I use Three steps that make delegation feel less scary and more strategic. Okay, step one just paint the picture. Okay, paint the picture. Don't just tell them what to do. Help them see what success looks like, instead of update the spreadsheet, try. Our goal is to have real-time visibility into project status so we can catch problems early. And then, step two set the guardrails. Okay, this part isn't about micromanaging, it's about clarity. If they're making financial decisions, what's the limit? If they're handling client issues, what requires your input? You have to give them a sandbox they can play in freely.

Speaker 1:

I had a leader recently tell her team you have full authority to make any necessary purchases under $200. If you need something, don't wait on me. And you know what it worked. A few days later she called me and said Colby, it was amazing. A safety issue came up at one of our locations. Normally that would have hijacked my whole morning tracking down what to buy, placing the order, following up, but my team member just handled it Bought what was needed for a little over $100, kept everyone safe and then told me, after the whole thing took two minutes of my day, a quick phone call because I had already given her that authority. That's the power of clear guardrails Everyone knows what they own. And then step three hear me get out of the way.

Speaker 1:

This is the hardest part for so many leaders, me included. Check in, but don't hover. Ask something more like what do you need from me? Instead of here's what you should do next, when you step back, you give your people space to grow and yourself space to lead. Now you're saying why does this matter so much? Well, here's what happens when you delegate authority and not just tasks. Your people start thinking like owners, not employees. They start solving problems instead of just reporting them. They start growing into leaders, not just task completers. And, honestly, you finally stopped being the bottleneck.

Speaker 1:

I remember a team member who had been quiet and hesitant for months. She was dependable, but not really driving much change. I gave her full ownership over a cross-team project and told her hey, this is yours, you decide how we move forward. Not only did she own it, she exceeded every timeline. She rallied in the entire team. She had people coming to her for guidance. She went from solid contributor to emerging leader because she was trusted to lead that shift.

Speaker 1:

That's what we're after. And here's something beautiful that happens when you develop leaders this way Succession planning becomes automatic. You don't have to wonder who's ready for the next role. You already know, because you've seen how they lead when they're given the space to actually lead and, let's be honest, it's how you take a real vacation without worrying your phone is going to explode. When you've built decision makers, you can unplug without fear that everything will fall apart the moment you do. But more than that, this is what a people first leader does. It takes a mentally strong, self-confident leader to do this, one who knows that leadership isn't about hoarding control. It's about creating more leaders, even the ones who might one day succeed you. That's real leadership.

Speaker 1:

So here's what I want you to try this week, and I mean this literally, not in theory Open up your calendar or your task list and find one task you've been holding on way too tightly. It could be a recurring report, client communication, a vendor follow-up anything that keeps ending up in your hands. Now I want you to define the outcome. What does success actually look like. Set the boundaries, what decisions 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 ask questions, but let them own it At your next check-in. Resist the urge to take it back. Instead, ask something like what support do you need from me? That moment, right, there is where leadership starts to grow. Before we wrap up, let me ask you one more question. What kind of leader do you want to be remembered as? The one who did everything perfectly, or the one who developed other people to lead? Delegating authority takes courage. It means trusting people before they're perfect, did you?

Speaker 1:

hear me, it means trusting people before they're perfect. It means being okay with things not always being done your way, but the payoff You're not just getting things off your plate. You're building the kind of leaders who will one day replace you, and that's the highest compliment to your leadership. If you're working on developing leaders and need support whether it's coaching, training your team or bringing me in to speak I'd love to help. You'll find that link in the show notes and remember you're not just managing tasks, you're building leaders. And you know why? Because those are the things that leaders do.

Speaker 2:

Thank you for listening to Things Leaders Do. If you're looking for more tips on how to be a better leader, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and listen to next week's episode. Until next time, keep working on being a better leader by doing the things that leaders do.