On a recent call with one of my clients, she shared her screen to show me something she’d been working on in Canva. She had spent hours trying to get it right—then got stuck, gave up, and said she was waving the white flag to ask for help.
This is a trap that I see so often—entrepreneurs defaulting to:
“Let me figure this out myself first.”
On the surface, it seems harmless—especially if, like my client, you’re smart, capable, and enjoy learning new things.
But here’s the truth:
At a certain point in business, that mindset is no longer useful. It feels productive, but it actually keeps you stuck. Because the work you’re spending hours on to “figure out yourself”? It’s not the work that will actually move your business forward.
Here’s why “figuring it out yourself” as the CEO isn’t always the best move:
1. Your team is there to help you—let them.
When you’ve been the one wearing all the hats in your business, it can be hard to let go and switch into truly leaning on your team—but that shift is essential. You’re not being needy or high maintenance when you ask for support. You’re being a leader. Your team isn’t annoyed that you have needs—they’re here because you do.
2. You don’t need to know exactly how everything works.
As the CEO, your role should be more high-level understanding and oversight, not hands-on execution. That Canva project? Could’ve been a 30-minute task for her VA—and a chance for that person to take real ownership of the asset moving forward.
3. Your energy is your most valuable resource.
This particular client only has a few hours each day to work. So spending two of those fiddling in Canva? Not the best use of her limited time. The work that only she can do—creating content, leading client calls, driving strategy for our next launch—that’s where her time is most valuable and what actually grows the business.
And here’s the part most of us forget:
Even if you had the time and energy to do it, that still doesn’t mean you should.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do for your business is to not work. Go for a walk, take a nap, or do something fun.
Stepping away from your business to rest or reset opens you up to better ideas, more clarity, and the energy to focus on what matters most (without burning out).
So if you’ve been operating from a place of:
“Can I figure this out myself?”
Try replacing that with:
“Is this the best use of my time?”
If the answer is no, hand it off to your team. The more you delegate, the more it increases their skills and their confidence. And the more you get to focus on what only you can do.
