The New Must-Learn Leadership Skill: How to Delegate Work to AI

Read Time: 4 minutes.

For years, being a great leader meant knowing how to delegate.

Figuring out which tasks to hand off so you and your team could focus on higher-value work.

But now, there’s a new twist: some of those tasks don’t need to go to a person at all.

They can go to AI.

In fact, they should go to AI.

AI isn’t some experimental tool anymore. It’s here, it’s improving, and in some cases, it’s a better option than assigning work to a human.

As leaders, we cannot delay figuring this out.

AI is already impressive. And it will never be worse than it is today.

Think about it:

• Need a first draft of a report? AI can generate it in seconds.

• Dreading hours of research? AI can summarize key insights in minutes.

• Want ideas for your next team strategy? AI can give you structured options instantly.

This isn’t about replacing people.

It’s about the opportunity to accelerate to the parts of work that distinctly human.

So how do you know when to delegate to AI versus a person?

How to Decide: People vs AI

Smart delegation is really just about making sure the right work is in the right hands. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

Delegate to a Person When:

• The task requires creativity, critical thinking, or emotional intelligence.

• The outcome is high-stakes and needs human judgment.

• Human interaction is core to the work.

Delegate to AI When:

• The work is repetitive, structured, or data-driven.

• Speed, efficiency and rapid iteration matter more than nuance.

• AI can generate a drafts, summaries, or analyses that a person will refine.

I also expect this list is going to grow. And grow fast.

But the only way you’ll see the opportunities is to immerse yourself in the technology.

With that being said, here are five things you should probably stop doing manually and start handing off to AI…

1. Writing First Drafts of Reports, Emails, and Summaries

The Problem: You’re spending too much time writing the first version of routine communications.

AI Fix: Let AI generate the draft, then you tweak it.

Try This Prompt:

“Summarize the key takeaways from [meeting/transcript/document] in a clear, concise email for my team. Keep it under 200 words and focus on action items.”

Time Saved: A solid draft in seconds instead of 30+ minutes.

2. Researching and Synthesizing Information

The Problem: You or your team spend hours pulling together industry trends, competitor insights, or best practices.

AI Fix: AI can scan sources, extract key takeaways, and present a clean summary.

Try This Prompt:

“Find the top three emerging trends in [industry] for [year] and summarize them with examples of companies using them.”

Time Saved: Cuts research time from hours to minutes.

Note: Make sure you’re using an LLM with access to recent training data or web access.

3. Brainstorming and Strategy Ideas

The Problem: Meetings drag on, and brainstorming sessions often go in circles.

AI Fix: Get AI to generate structured ideas upfront, so meetings can be about refining—not starting from scratch.

Try This Prompt:

“Give me 10 creative ways to improve remote team collaboration. Include three pros and cons for each idea.”

Time Saved: Reduces unproductive brainstorming time by up to 80%.

4. Structuring Employee Feedback and Performance Reviews

The Problem: Giving clear, actionable feedback is hard, and sometimes it gets delayed because you’re not sure how to phrase it.

AI Fix: AI can organize feedback into structured, professional messaging.

Try This Prompt:

“Using the ‘Situation-Behavior-Impact’ model, draft constructive feedback for an employee based on their last three performance reviews [attached] and recent project outcomes.”

Time Saved: Speeds up feedback prep and ensures clarity.

5. Spotting Employee Burnout Early

The Problem: Burnout and disengagement creep up silently, and by the time you notice, it’s a retention issue.

AI Fix: AI can analyze communication patterns, employee surveys, and productivity data to flag early warning signs.

Try This Prompt:

“Analyze recent Slack messages and employee survey responses to detect signs of burnout or low morale. Summarize key trends and suggest steps to improve team well-being.”

Time Saved: You get insights before problems escalate.

The Future of Leadership: Balancing People and AI

The best leaders of the future won’t just be great at managing people. They’ll also know how to leverage AI to make their teams more effective.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Knowing when to delegate to a person vs. AI

• Using AI to delete repetitive work and offer assistance for big-picture thinking

• Helping your team focus on creativity, strategy, and leadership—not just execution

Don’t worry – AI won’t replace your best people.
But it will help them do their best work.

The question is:

Are you using it to its full potential?

Someone is.
Why wouldn’t it be you?

What You Missed This Week

Did you miss last week’s MGMT Playbook?

📌 We shared insights on what championship teams can teach us about data-driven leadership in: How To Make Smarter Business Decisions Using Sports Analytics Secrets

And here are our most popular posts last week:

1. 10 Leadership Habits Slowly Killing Your Team

2. 11 Unexpected Leadership Lessons Hidden In Plain Sight

3. Great Leaders Assist

4. Exceptional Leaders See Your Potential

5. 7 Signs You’re In A Toxic Team Culture

6. 7 Questions To Ask In Your 1:1 Meetings

Or, why not check out today’s shares:

📌 11 Mindset Shifts That Will Grow Your Career
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Our goal is to build a community of 1 million thoughtful, curious leaders.

Your ♻️ reposts on any or all of the above are always appreciated.  

Thank you for reading. Appreciate you!

Dave & Mar

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