If you've ever told your VA to do something and found yourself chasing it down two weeks later... you're not alone.

This is one of the most common pain points I see with entrepreneurs: you want to delegate, but things fall through the cracks. Instead of scaling, you get sucked back into doing everything yourself.

So let's fix that.

In a recent SuperVA coaching call, we dove into how to understand your business value chain—and why it breaks. Here's what you need to know (and do) to get your time and sanity back.

What Is the Value Chain?

Think of every task in your business like a baton in a relay race. It gets handed from you to your VA (or from one VA to another). Each handoff is a chance to either:

• Move the business forward, or

• Drop the baton completely

A strong value chain means tasks move efficiently, without delays or confusion.

A weak chain? That’s where frustration, missed deadlines, and burnout happen.

The 7 Reasons Most Value Chains Break

If your delegation feels frustrating, one or more of these are likely to blame:

1. Lack of Clarity

Vague instructions like "ASAP" lead to inconsistent outcomes.

Confession: My VA Grace would call me out every time I said "ASAP." Usually, I just meant "by Friday." Be specific.

2. Failing to Verify

You sent the task... but did they actually receive and understand it?

Tip: Record important conversations so you can verify what was said versus what was heard.

3. Mindset Resistance

VAs saying "I'll try" instead of "I can do this" leads to doubt and delay.

The fix: Hop on Zoom, show them how to do it once, and record it for future reference.

4. Too Many Handoffs

The more people involved, the more chances for things to get lost.

Simplify your process:

Before: CEO → VA #1 → VA #2 → Manager → CEO → Customer (6 steps)

After: CEO → VA → Customer (3 steps)

5. Dumping Tasks Without Empowerment

Don’t just throw over a to-do list. Explain why the task matters and what success looks like.

Real example: A client went through 33 revisions on a social media post via chat. One 5-minute Zoom call fixed it all.

6. Assuming Instead of Asking

Assuming your VA “gets it” is where 80% of breakdowns begin.

Ask them to repeat back what they understood.

7. No Ownership

When two people own a task, no one owns it.

The key: Give ONE person direct ownership of each chain.

The 6 Things You MUST Supply for Every Task

Use the I.R.E.N.M.D. Framework:

Information – Full context behind the task

Request – What exactly you’re asking them to do

Emotion – The tone and urgency

Needs – What outcome you expect

Materials – Links, files, references

Deadline – When it needs to be done

👉 We created a downloadable worksheet to help you get this right every time.

Bonus tip: I even use ChatGPT to fill in these six elements. I type: _"ChatGPT, I need this done—fill in the rest as