CeCe doesn’t claim to be an everyday cook. She’ll be the first to tell you that. But when she decides to make her crockpot roast, it’s an event. She preps everything carefully — the roast, the vegetables, the seasoning — sets it up on our covered porch so the aromas don’t drift inside the house. We have one of those houses that’s supposed to look (and smell) like no one actually lives there, if you get my drift.
She plugged the crockpot into the power strip, turned it on low, and walked away. Which is exactly what you’re supposed to do with a crockpot. That’s the whole point.
She spent the day working in her flower beds, walking right by that crockpot for hours. She noticed she never smelled it cooking. Seemed a little strange. But she didn’t walk over to check on it — just by it — and kept right on working.
Around 6 p.m., she went to bring it inside for supper.
The roast was completely raw. The vegetables hadn’t moved. Eight hours in, and that crockpot hadn’t done a single thing.
Because she had forgotten to turn on the power strip.
We laughed, quickly made a plan B, and agreed that tomorrow’s dinner was already handled. I asked her permission to write about it, and CeCe graciously agreed, reminding me it’s wise to check on crockpot food—even when it seems foolproof.
She’s right about that. And she’s also unknowingly described one of the most common delegation breakdowns in workplace culture.
The Handoff Is Not the Finish Line
Here’s what happened: CeCe did everything right at the beginning. She prepared thoroughly. She set things in motion. She delegated to the crockpot. And then she completely walked away — with no check-in, no confirmation that the task had actually started, and no plan to verify progress until the deadline arrived.
Sound familiar?
Leaders do this constantly. We make the handoff — we assign the project, explain the task, send the email — and then we mentally move on. We assume that because we delegated, the work is happening. We trust the crockpot.
But here’s what we often skip: confirming that the power is actually on.
Did the team member clearly understand the assignment? Do they have what they need to execute? Is there anything blocking them that they haven’t told you about yet?
I learned recently — not in a conference room but at a gas pump — just how costly it is to act on what we assume is true rather than what we’ve actually confirmed. If that sounds familiar, this short video is worth a few minutes of your time.
Delegation without confirmation is just an assumption with a deadline attached.
Scheduled Check-Ins Are Not Micromanaging
Let me be direct about something. A lot of leaders avoid check-ins because they’re afraid of looking like they don’t trust their people. I understand the instinct. But there’s a critical difference between micromanaging and maintaining connection.
Micromanaging is hovering, second-guessing, and taking work back. Scheduled check-ins are leadership. They’re how you catch a raw roast at 2 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. They create shared accountability, surface obstacles early, and give team members a natural moment to say I need help before the deadline is breathing down everyone’s necks.
A simple “let’s touch base on Tuesday to see where we are” at the moment of delegation costs almost nothing. The absence of that conversation can cost everything.
The 6pm Problem
The second lesson in CeCe’s crockpot is this: she didn’t check on it until supper time. Until the deadline.
This is the other half of the delegation breakdown, and it happens on both sides of the leadership relationship.
Leaders often show up right before the deadline to see how things are going — which is too late to do much about it if the answer is “not well.” And team members often wait until they’re nearly out of time, or already past it, before they raise their hand and say something isn’t working.
Both are costly. Both are avoidable.
Leaders: build the check-in into the delegation itself. Make it a standard part of how you assign work, not an afterthought. Team members: if you hit a wall, if something changes, if you can see the deadline approaching and the work isn’t where it needs to be — communicate early. Your leader would far rather hear about a problem at 2 p.m. than discover a raw roast at 6.
Ownership Lives on Both Sides
Successful delegation isn’t something a leader does to a team member. It’s a shared responsibility. Leaders own the clarity of the assignment, the confirmation of understanding, and the structure of the check-in. Team members own their progress, their communication, and their willingness to ask for help before it’s too late.
When both sides own their part, things get done well. When either side drops the ball — or forgets to turn on the power strip — you end up with a raw roast at supper time and a lot of scrambling for plan B.
Does this remind you of a recent breakdown in delegation? Whether you were the one who forgot to check or the one who forgot to speak up, share your lessons learned in the comments. We all have a crockpot story somewhere.
I hope your next roast is tender, juicy, and cooked.
And always remember to #beBetter.
Grab your copy of Leading with Significance for more insights on building the high-trust, people-first culture where great delegation is the norm.
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