Rethinking Delegation: How Denver Business Owners Can Free Up Time Without Overloading Their Teams
- Simon Zryd
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
If you're like most small business owners I work with here in Denver, you've probably hit that frustrating wall: you and your team are both maxed out, but the work just keeps coming. The first instinct might be to delegate more, but here’s the hard truth — delegating isn’t always the solution when your team is already at full capacity.
When you delegate to an overloaded team, you’re not solving the problem — you’re just shuffling the overwhelmaround. To truly create breathing room, we need a different approach: rethinking how the work gets done altogether.
Here are three practical strategies that I often share with the small business owners and professionals in our Denver networking groups:
1. Set a "Good Enough" Standard
Not every task needs to be an A+. As business owners, we often push for perfection, but it's essential to recognize when B-quality is more than good enough. For example, does an internal report need to be a masterpiece, or just clear and accurate? By defining what “good enough” looks like in different areas, you and your team can save a lot of time and energy without sacrificing results where it truly matters.
2. Identify and Eliminate Hidden Low-Value Work
Many businesses unknowingly waste hours on tasks that no longer add real value. These “ghost tasks” often hide in plain sight — think bloated checklists, redundant reports, or unnecessary meetings.
I always recommend two rounds of review:
First, spot the obvious time-wasters.
Then, dig deeper to uncover the habitual tasks that have crept in over time.
Try adopting a "two-way door" mindset: eliminate first, reinstate later only if absolutely necessary. It’s amazing how much capacity you can free up with this simple shift.
3. Strategically Reduce Your Own Availability
This one’s a game-changer. Constant availability drains your energy and makes your team overly dependent. Instead, step back into more of an advisory role on some projects, be more intentional about when and how you're involved, and use shorter updates or asynchronous communication (like recorded Loom videos or email summaries) to keep things moving without the endless meetings.
The Big Idea
When traditional delegation isn’t an option, the answer isn’t to push harder — it’s to work smarter. By rethinking effort standards, cutting wasted work, and managing your own involvement, you can reclaim time and energy for what truly drives your business forward.
Network in Action Denver Metro
In our Network In Action groups right here in Denver, we talk about challenges like this all the time. One of the biggest advantages of belonging to a Denver networking group is learning real-world strategies from other business owners who’ve been there, done that — and are growing because they’ve rethought the way they lead.
If you’re feeling stuck or stretched thin, come check out a Network In Action meeting. We’re not your typical networking group — we’re a community of growth-minded business owners focused on building real relationships and creating real results.