Delegate This, Not That: Delegation Examples for CEOs and Leaders
A lot of CEOs hit a point where delegation feels like the obvious solution. You’ve got too much on your plate, your calendar’s packed, and your brain is running a mile a minute.
There’s a clear temptation to hand everything off, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. But this is one of the biggest misconceptions about delegation.
Just because something is on your list doesn’t mean you should delegate it.
Strategic delegation helps you grow while staying connected to your business, your team, and your brand. It also protects the work that only you can do.
Because yes, while there are tasks you should delegate, there are also tasks you need to keep.
Key takeaways from these delegation examples
In this post, we’ll help you figure out what to delegate and what to keep. The main points we’ll cover include:
Delegation works best when you treat it as a leadership strategy. It’s not just a way to escape responsibilities.
Over-delegating the wrong tasks can pull you away from your brand, your team, and the relationships that matter most.
Start by identifying what needs to stay with you, including your genius zone work and decisions that require your judgment, presence, or authority. Then delegate low-leverage tasks that are repeatable, teachable, and draining.
Use the 4 D’s framework to sort your to-do list quickly and consistently.
Do an energy audit so you’re protecting your time and capacity.
Why shouldn’t I delegate everything on my plate?
Delegation is powerful, but it’s not a dumping ground for your entire to-do list. When you hand off too much, or hand off the wrong things, you can accidentally disconnect from the parts of the business that require your leadership.
Over-delegating can create real problems, including:
A brand voice that feels inconsistent because someone else is making decisions they aren’t equipped to make
Confusion inside your team because the CEO is no longer close enough to the work to guide priorities
Client relationships that weaken if clients expect access to you and instead get a go-between
You also want to delegate the right tasks to the right person.
For example, handing social media management to someone with no interest or baseline understanding can create more work later. They can learn, but you don’t want to delegate blindly and hope it turns out well.
Delegation should strengthen your business. If it creates friction, misalignment, or damage control, it’s time to reassess what’s being handed off.
What should I keep on my plate as a CEO?
Start with your genius zone. That’s the sweet spot where your strengths and business impact overlap. These are the areas where your leadership matters most and where your involvement creates the biggest return.
Many CEOs should keep tasks like:
High-level strategy and decisions
Building relationships with key clients, partners, or investors
Creative vision and direction
Final say on hiring and brand messaging
High stakes, 1:1 calls that require trust, nuance, and authority
Strategic planning and creative ideation that sets the direction for the business
You’ll also want to keep responsibilities that require your face, energy, or unique judgment. Your presence can’t always be replaced with a process.
That said, keeping something does not mean doing it alone. You can stay connected while still bringing in support to lighten the load. That’s often the difference between a CEO who stays in leadership and a CEO who gets lost in the weeds.
Delegation examples for CEOs
What should you delegate first to get relief without losing control?
Look for low-leverage tasks and draining tasks. These are the responsibilities that someone else can do just as well, or even better, once they’re trained and given clear expectations.
Use a simple filter to choose what to delegate and what to keep on your list.
Delegate tasks that are repeatable, teachable, and not in your genius zone.
Below we’ve shared some delegation examples to help you see where you
Calendar management
This becomes delegatable when you’ve clearly defined what you want your calendar to look like.
You need to know how you want to allocate time for:
Required meetings
Focused time
Family time
Personal time
When your expectations are clear, someone else can protect your schedule without guessing.
Travel
Travel can be handled when you provide the details upfront. Share (and document!) your preferences for everything from seat choice to airline, rewards numbers, budget, and payment method.
The more context you can give, the smoother it is for someone else to manage your travel.
Inbox triage
You don’t need to spend your day sorting newsletters, platform notifications, and promotional emails just to find the few messages that actually need your attention.
With a clear system, someone can filter, flag, and route what matters.
Data entry and organizing information
You can delegate client details, expense reports, speaking engagement lists, and internal trackers. If you want organized and efficient documentation, this is a great place to start because the outcome is easy to define.
Routine customer service replies
Delegating your customer service can work well when you do it the right way.
Use a company-branded email address for anyone communicating on behalf of the business. Avoid having someone respond as you as that can cause trust and communication issues. Instead, create templates in your brand voice that align with your mission, vision, and values that make it easy for your team to consistently respond without pretending to be you.
Make delegation decisions faster
Decision fatigue is real. We recommend using the 4 D’s framework to simplify decision-making and sort delegation tasks quickly and efficiently.
Here’s how it works:
Do: If it’s urgent and important, do it now.
Delay: If it’s important but not urgent, schedule it.
Delegate: If it’s not in your genius zone, hand it off.
Delete: If it’s not aligned or no longer relevant, let it go.
Block 15 minutes at the start or end of each week to run your to-do list through the 4 D’s framework. That one habit can create instant clarity and reduce the mental load you carry into the week.
How do I know what drains my energy?
Time is part of the equation, but your energy matters just as much. Delegation should protect your capacity so you can lead well.
A quick energy audit will shine a light on what’s draining your energy as a CEO.
How to complete an energy audit:
List your regular weekly tasks and ask:
- Does this energize me or drain me?
- Does this require my voice or expertise?
- Could someone else do this 80 to 90% as well with the right training?
Then sort tasks into three buckets:
- Keep doing
- Delegate or automate
- Drop or simplify
Energy is a leadership currency. If you treat it like it matters, your decisions will become clearer, and your business growth will feel more sustainable.
What happens now that you’ve learned from these delegation examples?
Learning is the first step, and now it’s time to do. Check out the free resources and further opportunities to connect with the operations and delegation pros at Elevate.
Download the free Tools to Let Go and Level Up Workbook
This guided workbook takes what we shared in this post and shows you how to take specific action steps to implement what you learn.Subscribe and listen to The Delegation Download Podcast on Apple or Spotify.
This post was inspired by Episode 3 of the Series –– The Delegation Shift: Let Go to Level Up.
