How to Delegate Your Way to Success and Growth in 2025
At Trusty Oak, our values-driven model is focused on the benefits that arise from transparent communication, a shared interest in growth, and a spirit of collaboration. One of the most important things that a leader can do is learn to delegate effectively, enabling them to entrust others with important tasks, decrease their own workload, and build trusting relationships to help leaders and support staff grow and flourish.
However, one major problem often looms: delegation is not always easy. As the calendar year closes out and a new one begins, fresh with promise and possibility, we are here to deliver an effective and straightforward delegation strategy that will see both you and your VA succeeding in the new year.
Keep Your Focus
“The upper limit of what’s possible will increase only with each collaborator you empower to contribute their best work to your shared priorities. Likewise, your power decreases with every initiative you unnecessarily hold on to.”
-Jesse Sostrin, To Be a Great Leader, You Have to Learn How to Delegate Well
A leader’s focus should be on the big picture, while support staff are there to take on the tasks that lead to those goals. You are unlikely to ask your assistant to set long-term goals and KPIs for the business, so why would you expect a leader to handle tasks such as inbox organization or billing?
An effective and fruitful delegation strategy is only three steps away.
Step 1: Clear the Hurdles
As important as it is to delegate effectively, it’s essential to start with the hurdles that leaders face. We have tackled this issue in more detail before, but here is a quick list of mindsets to avoid:
- I don’t have the time to delegate/explaining this will take too long.
- Nobody else will be able to do this as well as I can.
- I’m not sure of the best way to delegate, so I won’t.
- I’ve always done this, so why would I put this on someone else’s plate?
Not only do these reasons effectively halt a delegation strategy in its tracks, but they also keep leaders occupied with work that can best be entrusted to others. While it is true that delegation can require time and energy, setting aside some time can yield large and clearly visible results in the weeks and months to come. Growth and skill will increase in equal measure when leaders and their support staff trust each other.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is understanding how to delegate effectively. A simple internet search will reveal countless options, but your biggest resource is already at the table: Trusty Oak. We want our clients to succeed, including the growth and the facilitation of trusting, beneficial relationships between our clients and VAs. At Trusty Oak, you will find experts, workshops, blogs, and more to help you gain new knowledge, avoid common pitfalls, and build a path to success.
Step 2: Decide What and How to Delegate
Now that we’ve cleared the hurdles to effective delegation, it is time to focus on what works. A few simple principles will set you and your VA up for success and ensure that both of you–and your business–are thriving.
- Determine what should be delegated
The number one focus on what should be delegated is whether your particular expertise is required to complete it. Identify common and repeated tasks, and let these fall to support staff. Leadership should be focused on the big picture while allowing support staff to handle the tasks that need to be regularly tackled such as managing email, scheduling, and logging data.
- Set clear expectations and goals. Be sure to follow up.
Be clear about what you are expecting from support staff. The best way to ensure that tasks are handled correctly is to effectively communicate what you expect from those tasks and how you would like those tasks to be handled. Encourage your VA and support staff to ask questions. Following up with support staff allows all involved to clarify pain points, identify issues, and determine what is being done right.
- Agree on clear lines of communication.
With the current state of tech, there are endless ways to keep in touch. It is important to choose what works best for you and set that expectation with your VA and support staff. Tools such as Loom or Slack can help you convey information quickly and easily and give your support staff opportunities to keep in touch with you as well. Determine how often and when you expect communication to occur, setting clear understanding for you and your team and ensuring that the lines of communication are always open.
Step 3: Rework, Grow, and Flourish
Delegation is unlikely to occur perfectly the first time every time, and effective delegation relies on clear and honest feedback. Communicate to your team what they have done well and to the degree or standard that you expect, but also identify what could be improved and how. You can not go it alone, nor should you try to. Leaning on support staff isn’t just beneficial to your workload and business but is an essential part of being an effective leader.
Trusty Oak is Here For Your Success
We believe that the most effective and beneficial working relationships are those that rely on clear communication and delegation. Your VA cannot support you in your vision if they are not entrusted to take on the tasks that bog you down and keep you from leading. A clear and straightforward delegation strategy can mean the difference between success and failure, and Trusty Oak is here to ensure that every client and VA relationship is a success.
For a different perspective on delegation, check out founder and CEO Amber Gray’s 5 Lessons in Delegation from the Incas: Building a Legacy through Collaboration.
Sources:
To Be a Great Leader, You Have to Learn How to Delegate Well by Jesse Sostrin
How To Delegate Effectively: 8 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Team’s Time And Talent
Learn more about how you could benefit from working with a VA by visiting our “How It Works” page!
Justin is passionate about educating and helping himself and those around him grow and develop. He is interested in finding ways to help those in need through his work. He is looking for opportunities to make the world a better place by supporting those in leadership positions and he views his role with Trusty Oak as an opportunity to experience and learn more about a variety of industries and people.