How to properly DELEGATE to your team (Without annoying them)

+ Steal my exact delegation checklist

Heyyy team,

It’s a beautiful day here in Manchester and I’m gearing up for our huge online workshop next week:

💥 How to Hold People Accountable (Without Being the Bad Guy) 💥

Over 300 people have already signed up, and I’m gifting you a free ticket when you buy my debut book, Your Boss Era.

But don’t wait - this ends in 10 days. Once you’ve placed your order for the book (on any site), just reply “purchased” to this email, then i’ll check and send you the free ticket.

But let’s get back to the important matter at hand…

There’s this moment every manager hits.

When we’re overwhelmed, trying to keep the plates spinning, and someone says, “You just need to delegate more.”

So you try… You hand over a task.

But the result? Eek. Not quite what we expected.

You spend more time fixing it than you would’ve spent doing it yourself. Or worse, your team starts feeling frustrated, like you’re just dumping stuff on their plate without a second thought.

I’ve been there.

And through building teams inside both startups and multi-billion-pound corporates, I learned that delegation isn’t just a workload strategy. Done well, it can be our leadership superpower.

It can boost our team’s confidence, connect their work to something bigger, and build the kind of trust that makes people want to do their best.

Here’s how I delegate with purpose. Without my team feeling annoyed.

Btw the delegation checklist is at the end of this post, please steal it for next time you need to deletage a task

Stop delegating like a robot

Most managers delegate like this:

“Can you send me a list of top clients with their monthly revenue by Friday?”

Clear deadline, clear task. Sounds fine, right?

Wrong.

Because your team aren’t robots. You can’t just plug in a command and expect the perfect output.

This kind of delegation falls flat because:

• No clear outcome. They don’t know what “good” looks like.

• Wrong person. You picked who was free, not who was best.

• No context. Without the why, the task feels pointless.

It’s not just what you say
It’s how you frame it

Delegation framed well = ownership, pride, better results.
Delegation framed badly = confusion, apathy, mediocre work.

So let’s flip it…

Delegating with purpose

Simon Sinek nailed it when he said:

“Our passions are ignited when we set out to advance a cause greater than ourselves.”

It’s your job as a manager to link that simple client report, or that slide deck, or that team rota, to something meaningful.

Let’s take an example:

You need a report on client data.

You could say:

“Run a report on our clients and their average revenue. Need it by Friday.”

Or you could say:

“To start building products that genuinely change lives, we need to know where our most impactful clients are. That way, we can double down in those areas. You’re amazing with data, could you pull together a report that helps us get those insights?”

Can you feel the difference?

One feels like a demand.
The other feels like a moment to step up.

Yes, it takes a bit more effort upfront.

But it’ll save you hours later, because things come back done well, with energy, thought, and pride.

Here’s what’s really happening in version two:

✅ You link the task to the bigger picture
This gives the work meaning. And when people understand the why, they care more and perform better.

✅ You call out their strengths
It builds confidence, signals trust, and helps them see exactly why they were chosen, so they’re more likely to rise to the challenge.

✅ You focus on the outcome, not micromanaging the process
This gives people autonomy, which boosts motivation and usually leads to smarter, more creative results.

That’s purpose-led delegation. And it works.

Real example

Old way:

“Can you make a 10-slide pitch deck for next week?”

New way:

“This pitch could be a game-changer for us. I’d love your creative eye on it, could you shape a bold, standout deck that shows what makes us different?”

Same task. Totally different energy.

The payoff

When you delegate with purpose:

• Your team feels valued, not just used

• You get better work because they understand the why

• You stop being the bottleneck

• And you become the kind of manager people trust with their growth

Quick delegation checklist for next time:

🟢 Lead with the bigger picture
🟢 Match the task to someone’s strength
🟢 Describe the outcome, not the process
🟢 Show them why it matters
🟢 Celebrate when it’s done

See you next week,

H x

P.S. We’re still going strong pushing to grow the Leadership Heather YouTube channel, every single subscriber means the world.

If you want a downloadable asset so you can come back to it in future, here you go. And if you want to watch the YouTube version of this blog post, it’s here: