How Delegation Helps Leaders Get More Done in Less Time

What BELAY CEO Tricia Sciortino says about protecting the decisions only you can make

Getting more done in less time starts with deciding which responsibilities should still belong to you. On the Maxwell Leadership Podcast episode How to Get More Done in Less Time, BELAY CEO Tricia Sciortino explains how delegation helps leaders hand off recurring administrative, operational, and financial tasks. That frees them to focus on strategy, clients, team leadership, and the decisions only they can make.

Why is delegation so important for busy leaders?

Delegation gives you a way to protect the responsibilities that most need your attention.

John Maxwell’s lesson included 15 principles for better productivity, including planning your day, saying no, applying the 80/20 rule, and creating larger blocks of focused time. His case for planning comes down to simple math: 10 to 12 minutes of planning can save you up to 2 hours of wasted time and scattered effort.

When Maxwell Leadership CEO Mark Cole asked Tricia to add a 16th principle, she named delegation. It’s the practical step that gives leaders somewhere to send the work that keeps pulling them away from higher-value decisions.

If your day is filled with email, scheduling, expense reports, Slack messages, payroll questions, bookkeeping follow-up, or operational coordination, you have less time for strategy, client relationships, team communication, and decisions about hiring or growth.

Those tasks may still matter. They may just need a different owner.

Is hiring a growth strategy?

Yes. Tricia says hiring is a growth strategy, even when the hire is part-time.

She takes it a step further. When you don’t hire, she says, you stifle the growth of your organization.

Mark Cole gives entrepreneurs the same advice when they ask him about the most important decision they’ll make:

What keeps leaders from delegating?

Many leaders hold onto work because they believe they can do it best.

Tricia, who calls herself a recovering control freak, described delegation as a mindset shift because it often feels like giving away control. Leaders keep owning work because they created it or because they feel responsible for every detail.

That approach can only stretch so far. Holding everything too closely leaves a leader owning too much and working far more hours than the business actually needs from them.

Delegation works when you define the task clearly, explain the outcome you want, set timelines, share your preferences, and let someone else carry the next step. Then close the loop with feedback, so the work gets closer to right each time.

Many leaders use an 80% rule: if someone can do a task 80% as well as you, hand it off. In Tricia’s experience, people sometimes do it 120% better than you ever did.

How can leaders decide what to say no to?

Tricia uses a “no lens” to decide what belongs on her plate.

Sometimes the answer is “not me,” which means the work should be delegated. Sometimes it’s “not now,” which means the idea may be right but the timing is wrong. And sometimes it’s a clear no, because the request doesn’t align with the company’s priorities, mission, vision, or values.

That filter helps you protect your time without freezing progress. The request can move to the right person, move to a better time, or move off the list.

How does Tricia Sciortino lead BELAY in 40 hours a week?

Tricia treats her week as a container that holds 40 hours, so her family doesn’t get the leftovers at the end of the day.

She joined BELAY as its first employee, working part-time from home. She later served three years as COO and has been CEO since Jan. 1, 2020. Her “no lens” is how she’s kept that 40-hour limit as the company has grown.

She also runs projects on a 10/90/10 model. She sets the first 10% of the vision, lets someone else run the middle 90%, then comes back at the end to give the final okay. Her team gets room to grow, and she stays out of the tactical work.

Is “I didn’t have time” really a delegation problem?

It can be.

When Mark Cole asked Tricia whether “I didn’t have time” is actually a delegation problem in disguise, she pointed back to control.

She’s lived it herself. In BELAY’s early days, she personally chose the account manager for every new client, because it felt too important to hand off. Now she knows her leaders are fully capable of making that call, and she looks back on holding onto it as silly.

If an important responsibility keeps getting delayed, it may need a clearer owner or a better process. Start with the tasks that keep getting pushed, and ask whether they still need to sit with you.

How does BELAY help leaders get time back?

BELAY helps overwhelmed leaders figure out which responsibilities should come off their plate, then matches them with BELAY Assistants and Financial Experts to take that work on.

As Tricia put it on the episode:

That support can include Executive Assistants, Sales Assistants, Operations Assistants, Bookkeeping, Full-Service Payroll, Fractional Controllers, Fractional CFOs, and Full-Service Accounting Teams. Many leaders start with 10 to 20 hours a week.

Maxwell Leadership is one of BELAY’s clients. On the episode, Mark Cole said the company is a proud client of BELAY, with BELAY people on its team at all times.

According to Cole, BELAY now brings in more than $100 million in revenue and has served 15,000 organizations over 15 years.

For leaders who are out of time or carrying too many recurring responsibilities, BELAY gives each of those tasks a clear owner. That frees you for strategy, client relationships, team leadership, and decisions about what comes next.

Listen to Tricia Sciortino’s full conversation on the Maxwell Leadership Podcast for more on delegation and productivity.

FAQ

How does delegation help leaders get more done in less time?

Delegation helps leaders move recurring administrative, operational, or financial work to someone who can own it consistently. That gives leaders more time for strategy, decision-making, team leadership, and client relationships.

What should a leader delegate first?

Start with the work that repeatedly interrupts your highest-value priorities. That may include inbox management, calendar coordination, expense reports, bookkeeping, payroll, operational follow-up, or sales support.

Why do leaders struggle to delegate?

Many leaders struggle to delegate because they believe they can do the work best, or because handing it off feels like losing control. Clear expectations, timelines, preferences, and feedback make delegation easier to trust.

What does “not me, not now, no” mean?

It’s Tricia Sciortino’s decision filter for protecting time. “Not me” means delegate it. “Not now” means revisit it later. “No” means the request doesn’t fit the company’s current priorities.

Is Maxwell Leadership a BELAY client?

Yes. Maxwell Leadership CEO Mark Cole said on the Maxwell Leadership Podcast that Maxwell Leadership is a proud BELAY client, with BELAY people on its team at all times.

How can BELAY help with delegation?

BELAY matches you with BELAY Assistants and Financial Experts who take on the work that should no longer sit with you.

Get matched with the right BELAY Assistant or Financial Expert. It takes about 2 minutes.