Eight delegation mistakes that make founders take the work back
The eight recurring mistakes: delegating tasks instead of outcomes, delegating without documentation, delegating the wrong task first (high risk, low volume), skipping the quality bar, keeping the decision rights, no escalation rule, no reporting rhythm, and taking the work back at the first error instead of fixing the process. Every one of them is a system defect, and every one has a fix that takes under an hour.
The eight patterns
- Tasks instead of outcomes — creates a person who waits
- No documentation — creates constant questions
- Wrong first task — high risk and low volume means maximum stress, minimum payoff
- No quality bar — makes every result feel wrong
- Decision rights kept — the work moves, the queue does not
- No escalation rule — either everything escalates or nothing does
- No reporting rhythm — you find out about problems last
- Taking it back after one error — guarantees you own it forever
The correction that matters most
When something goes wrong, fix the SOP rather than reclaiming the task. One error usually reveals one missing line in the process. Reclaiming teaches both of you that delegation does not work here.
Choosing the right first task
Highest recurring hours, lowest cost of error, clearest inputs. Inbox triage, scheduling and recurring reports qualify almost universally. Client pricing and crisis communication do not.
Common follow-up questions
What if the person genuinely is not good enough?
That happens. Judge it against a documented process, a defined quality bar and a fair ramp-up — otherwise you cannot separate a people problem from a system problem.
How many corrections are normal?
Several per week in weeks one and two, near zero by week four for a documented task. If corrections plateau, the SOP is the suspect.