If it’s what you hate, delegate!
You probably heard this before. And sure, that’s decent advice. But this week, I want you to take a new approach because there’s something far more dangerous than work you hate.
It’s the work you love.
Yep. That sweet, satisfying, “I could do this all day” kind of work; the work you guard like Gollum and his precious.
Workaholic me really dug in when there was a task I loved. But leadership is about leading by example, growing your business, and your team. Achieving that means empowering your company by delegating the work you love. Not because you have to. But because you choose to.
Let me explain.
The dangerous allure of “fun” work
We all have our jam. For some, it’s design. For others, it’s deep-dive analysis, or client calls, or writing emails that convert. You tell yourself, “I can’t hand this off, this is my baby and no one will take care of it like me!”
But here’s what’s really happening:
You’re building a fiefdom. And not the cool Game-of-Thrones kind. More like a lonely tower where you are king, queen, and jester, juggling everything while your team watches from the moat.
When you cling to your favorite tasks, you block growth for your business and your people. Your team can’t step up because you won’t step out. The business can’t scale because you’re the bottleneck.
Here’s the real kicker: when you hold on to the fun stuff, your ego gets fed. You feel important. Needed. Indispensable. And that’s not freedom. That’s a velvet prison with golden handcuffs.
Do This: Let go on purpose
Pick one thing that you genuinely love doing. Maybe it’s creating your podcast, managing the company’s Instagram, or mapping out a financial strategy. Got it?
Now, train someone on your team to do it. All of it. Even the “magic touch” parts. Especially those. Give them the playbook, the context, the why behind the how.
Delegate because you choose to. That’s the power move. That’s what moves you from being the doer of the work… to the designer of outcomes.
Remember: true leadership isn’t about holding on. It’s about lifting others up.
Not that: Don’t feed the ego
If you’re keeping tasks because they make you feel “in the zone” or keep you busy or make you feel important, stop. That’s not strategy, that’s vanity. It’s letting your ego drive the bus. And guess what? Ego’s a terrible driver. You’ll end up stuck in the same place year after year.
When you delegate strategically, you free your brain to work on the business, not in it. You open the door for your team to grow, take ownership, and even (gasp!) get better at that task than you ever were.
It’s not abdication. It’s elevation.
Check here for implementation:
Clockwork – Chapter 4, pages 85–92: Learn about the Queen Bee Role and what truly needs to stay on your plate.
All In – Chapter 10, pages 178–189: Discover how trust, not control, is the path to team performance.
Fix This Next – Chapter 2, pages 34–40: Pinpoint your most vital need in business. (Hint: It’s probably leadership trust.)
Your action plan:
Copy, paste, and ask AI (that’s me) the following:
“Ask me one question at a time to help me figure out what I love doing most in my business. Then, help me see why that’s exactly the thing I need to delegate, because true ownership is about designing outcomes, not doing the work.”
This little exercise will help you identify your “fun trap”: the task you love that’s quietly holding you back, and guide you to train someone else to take the baton.
Final thought:
“The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets the people to do the greatest things.”
– Ronald Reagan
You’re not just an entrepreneur. You’re a leader, a guide, a builder of people. If you want your business to thrive without you (and because of you), you’ve got to delegate the crown jewels.
Not all of them. Just one to start.
So go ahead. Delegate what you love.
Seriously.
You’ve got this.
– Mike
For more guidance about delegation, get help from our partners at Run Like Clockwork here.
ALL IN is a game-changer for leadership, and the folks at the ALL IN Company now have Saturday morning office hours so they can answer your questions live. Schedule a free advisory session here.
Fix This Next can help you pinpoint your biggest challenge. You can get the book here, take the evaluation here, and find a Fix This Next Advisor here.