5.4Delegating to save time
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Delegating = multiplying: one of the most powerful time-saving levers — and one of the most underused.
- “I will be faster myself”: true short term, almost always false medium term — keeping everything creates a bottleneck.
- Delegating well: identifying what can be + clear instructions + light follow-up, with no micro-management.
Mini-case thread — Anis keeps everything and drowns
Anis does everything himself: follow-ups, tables, filing — “I will be faster myself”. Outcome: his evenings stretch, his bid stalls, and his colleague is bored. Continuing his week: he entrusts her with client follow-ups with a written instruction (objective, template, deadline) and a light Friday check-in. She succeeds — and Anis recovers two hours for his in-depth file.
Continuing case 5.1-5.3 — Anis frees his time for what only he can do.
1. Delegating means multiplying
Delegating is one of the most powerful time-saving levers — and one of the most underused, for fear of “losing control” or belief that “you will be faster yourself”. Short term, maybe; but medium term, doing everything yourself is the best way to drown and hold back your team.
Delegating means multiplying: time invested explaining once is recovered at each future repetition, and builds team skills. Anis discovers it with follow-ups: explained once, done ten times without him.
2. Clear instructions, light follow-up
Delegating well is learned: identifying what can be, giving clear instructions (objective, expected outcome, deadline), then ensuring light follow-up — with no micro-management. Anis writes his instruction: objective, message template, deadline, and a single Friday check-in.
Delegating is not dumping: it is entrusting with confidence, freeing time for what only you can do — your unique value zone. Even with no team, you can share, pool, outsource or automate.
🔎 Concrete example — 🔎 Concrete example — Anis's instruction
Written, clear, light.
OBJECTIVE: follow up the 8 waiting clients before Thursday.
TEMPLATE: attached message template, courteous tone.
DEADLINE: Thursday 5pm, table updated.
FOLLOW-UP: one Friday 10am check-in, 15 min.Outcome: two hours returned to Anis for his bid.
Reflex: accepting initial imperfection and building skills.
Section vocabulary
- Delegation
- Entrusting a task or responsibility to someone else, with needed instructions and autonomy.
Simple example: Anis entrusts client follow-ups to his colleague with template and deadline.
What it is not: keeping everything for fear of losing control.
Reflex: which task can I entrust this week?
- Clear instruction
- Explicit objective, expected outcome, constraints and deadline, so the person succeeds.
Simple example: Anis's card: objective, template, Thursday 5pm, table up to date.
What it is not: “handle the follow-ups” with zero detail.
Reflex: does my instruction hold in objective + outcome + deadline?
- Light follow-up
- Support with no micro-management: measured checkpoints, granted trust.
Simple example: Anis: a single 15-minute Friday check-in.
What it is not: re-reading each message before sending and correcting everything.
Reflex: does my follow-up leave autonomy?
- Micro-management
- Excessive control of each detail: counter-productive, it cancels delegation benefit.
Simple example: Anis resists the urge to rewrite each follow-up.
What it is not: a single check-in with trust and adjustments.
Reflex: am I redoing the entrusted work?
- Unique value zone
- What only you can/should do: what delegating the rest lets you preserve.
Simple example: For Anis: the complex bid — not follow-ups or filing.
What it is not: spending your week on tasks others would do as well.
Reflex: what can only I do this week?
In practice — In practice — Delegating effectively
- List your tasks and spot those someone else could do (even less well than you at first).
- For a task to delegate, phrase a clear instruction: objective, expected outcome, constraints, deadline.
- Entrust with needed autonomy and resist micro-management: set light checkpoints.
- Accept initial imperfection and build skills: delegating is an investment quickly paid off.
Ready-to-say script — entrusting a task (1 min)
“I am entrusting you with client follow-ups: objective, 8 clients followed up before Thursday with the attached template; you update the table. You have free rein on wording. Let's have a Friday 10am check-in, 15 minutes — and I stay available if you get stuck.”
Say while handing the written instruction; set the follow-up check-in right away.
Copy-paste template — delegation card
DELEGATED TASK: _______________
TO WHOM: _______________
OBJECTIVE + EXPECTED OUTCOME: _______________
CONSTRAINTS + DEADLINE: _______________
GRANTED AUTONOMY: _______________
FOLLOW-UP CHECK-IN (when, duration): _______________Small business / small team
Anis has a single colleague: he entrusts her with one well-framed batch rather than vague crumbs — immediate effect.
Remote / hybrid
Remote, the instruction must be written (objective, template, deadline) and the check-in scheduled — otherwise follow-up is lost.
Algeria SME
Local versatility: Anis writes who does what when he is away (travel, bank) so nothing waits for him.
No hierarchical team
Anis shares with a peer, pools filing and automates reminders: delegating first means questioning “everything myself”.
✓ Best practices
- Spot what others could do, even less well at first.
- Give written instructions: objective, outcome, deadline.
- Follow up light: trust and measured check-ins, no micro-management.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Keeping everything because you are faster yourself.
- Entrusting with no instruction then blaming failure.
- Micro-managing after delegating (cancels all benefit).
Key takeaways
- Delegating is a major time lever, often underused.
- Doing everything yourself ends up drowning and bridling the team.
- Delegating well: what can be + clear instructions + light follow-up.
- Delegating means entrusting with confidence, not dumping nor micro-managing.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Fill the delegation card (template above) for 1 real task, and entrust it with written instruction + follow-up check-in. Note the time returned to your unique value zone.
- I explain why “faster myself” is false medium term.
- I can name the trio: identify, clear instruction, light follow-up.
- I delegated 1 real task with written instruction.
Frequently asked questions
“I will be faster doing it myself”: is it a good argument?
Short term, often true; medium term, almost always false. Time invested explaining once is recovered at each future repetition, and builds your team skills. Keeping all tasks creates a bottleneck (everything depends on you) and prevents you from focusing on what only you can do. Delegating is an investment, not a loss.
How to delegate when I have no team under my responsibility?
Delegation is not only hierarchical: you can share with peers, ask a colleague, outsource some tasks, or automate. Even with no team, asking “must I really do this myself?” opens options: reassigning, pooling, or removing the task. Delegating first means questioning the “do everything myself” reflex.
Anis spends his evenings on follow-ups his colleague could do. What is his best reflex?