The Boomerang Problem: Do Less Achieve More Series

Read time: 2 mins

Hey there!

Today we’re talking about of the most iconic Aussie objects ever:
🪃 The boomerang.
If you’ve ever thrown a boomerang, you know what happens.
You launch it… and it comes flying back at you.

Unfortunately, that’s also what delegation often looks like for small business owners.
You hand something over.
You feel a moment of relief.
And then — whoosh — the work comes straight back to you, and sometimes smacks you right in the head.

Welcome to topic #2 of our Do Less, Achieve More series,
where we turn simple ideas into practical ways to grow your business without burning out.

So, in that spirit, today we’re talking about:

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THE BOOMERANG PROBLEM

Why work keeps coming back, and how to stop it from hitting you in the nose

Delegation is supposed to give you time back.
But for many business owners, it just doesn’t work out that way.

You get questions.
Things don’t get done on time.
The quality is sub standard.

And suddenly, you’re thinking “I might as well have just done this myself.”

This is, obviously, no good.

How can you grow a business if you can’t rely on others to help with a growing workload?
Short answer: You can’t.

So, you need to be able to delegate, and avoid the Boomerang Problem.

Here’s how to fix it:

 1. Clarity is key

Boomerangs return because they’re designed to return.

And the truth is, tasks often come back to you for the same reason:

you (accidentally) design them that way.

If your team doesn’t know exactly what need to be done, it’ll probably come back to you.

Clarity prevents this bounce-back.

So our advice here is to overinvest in making sure you’re clear on:

• the outcome you’re looking for
• why it’s important
• the standard it needs to be completed at
• when it needs to be done

If you’re not crystal clear on these things, how can they be?

Once you’re clear, share it with them, and take the time to ensure they’re clear too. 

 

2. Delegate ownership, not tasks

Handing someone a task is very different from handing someone ownership.

When it’s ownership, they’re responsible for the whole outcome, not just the next step.

It’s the difference between:

“Can you send this email?”

and

“Can you own our client updates every Friday?”

And here’s the simplest way to think about it:

People take care of what they own.

Just like you treat a home you own very differently from a rental, ownership creates pride, responsibility and better decision-making.

 

3. People mirror your confidence (or uncertainty)

If you hand something over with hesitation…

If you apologise for delegating…

If you sound unsure that they can do it…

Your team will pick up on that immediately.

And unsure people do exactly what you’d expect:

They double check and second guess themselves. 

It’s not because they can’t do the work.

It’s because your uncertainty made them uncertain.

So what do you do instead?

Be clear and confident when you delegate.

Let them know you trust them.

Say things like:

“This is yours to run with. You’ve got this.”

“I trust your judgment but I’m here if you get stuck.” That confidence gives people the permission to step up and the psychological safety to take ownership without boomeranging the work straight back to you.

 

⭐ Bottom line

If work keeps bouncing back to you, it’s probably not a team problem.

It’s a delegation problem.

Be clearer.

Delegate outcomes, not steps.

Give ownership, not tasks.

Show confidence, so your team can deliver with confidence too.

Do less, achieve more. 

And stop getting hit in the nose by work that shouldn’t be yours anymore 🙂

And coming up next week: The Sandcastle Strategy 

Why your systems keep collapsing under pressure, and how to build ones that survive real waves. Hope you enjoyed this one, and speak soon,

Speak soon!

Lynne & Steve

 

 

TLDR

🪃 Delegation bounces back when expectations are unclear

🪃 Tasks return, ownership doesn’t

🪃 Your confidence sets the tone

🪃 Design delegation that come back to you

If you want help fixing delegation so work stops boomeranging back to you, check out our Leadership & Team Training solutions (or book a chat with us).

P.S.

If you’re enjoying this series, please share it with another small business owner who would love it too 😉