Many of the business owners, leaders and professionals I work with have achieved success and also do everything themselves. However, it gets to the point when you become so preoccupied doing everything yourself, that you lose sight of how to achieve or plan for even greater goals because you’ve simply run out of capacity.
The truth is, we all wish that some of our work could be done by others. But many business leaders are hesitant to delegate work because they distrust employees or think they are the only ones who can do the job right.
Delegating is one of the most important skills needed to become a thought leader, visionary, and strategist. Leaving other important work to a trusted employee, contractor, or freelancer enables leaders to focus on business growth and new opportunities.
When I delegate, nothing gets done right. Why is that?
Prepare to delegate. This should be taken seriously and not as an afterthought.
- If you don’t take the time to explain the task and think it’s easier to just do it yourself, then you will always have too much work on your plate. Take the time upfront to explain what needs to get done and in the end you will free your time up. Research shows that employees become disengaged and unmotivated when managers don’t delegate effectively.
- Understand that employees will make mistakes.
- If you are a perfectionist. Be aware that you need to manage yourself first. It is rare that another person will do a task exactly the same way as you, but focus on the outcome and not always the process.
Does it take more time to delegate than to do it myself?
If you delegate and the work is not done correctly, ask yourself what kind of communicator you are. A great delegator has to be a great communicator and you need to know what to delegate.
- Delegate the tasks you have to do all the time. If you understand them well and know what the outcome is, then it will be easy to communicate that to your employee.
- Delegate a less-than-essential task that requires skills you don’t currently have. Learning new skills takes time, if your employee has the right skills to complete a task, then hand it over for them to do.
- Delegate tasks that don’t have immediate deadlines. Researching materials for blogs, newsletters, interesting report that pertains to your business are all good examples.
- Delegate a task to an employee who has shown a particular interest in it. If you have an employee that has a degree in a certain area or an expertise from past work experience, then give them an opportunity to show you their stuff (as long as it pertains to your business).
- Delegate a task to an employee who needs to develop a skill in that area. If you have an employee who has lots of potential and want to grow in his/her career but is weak in an area, then delegate tasks that could help them to develop a new skill that will benefit them. (i.e. running a meeting, calling on customers, etc)
What is a delegation agenda and how will it help my business?
A weekly meeting on the same day each week where you go over the prior week’s delegation tasks and you get and give feedback from your employee. Use a delegation worksheet that you can share virtually, so you can track weekly progress.
- Write an agenda of all the tasks you want accomplished.
- Set deadlines that you both agree upon for accomplishing tasks.
- Explain what you want done, how you want it done and when you want it done.
- If they need authority, give it to them and let the other employees know that he/she is responsible for the project and needs their cooperation.
- If they need a budget to do a task, give them spending authority and all the other tools they may need to finish the job.
How do I get honest feedback from my employee(s) that they understand and can do what I am asking of them?
Weekly meetings, these meetings provide the time for your employee to work with you one-on-one to get questions answered and to receive positive feedback as to what is going well and what needs to be improved upon.
Delegation is about improving your productivity- freeing you up to focus and strategies. It is also about developing employees and giving them the opportunity to prove themselves as they take on more responsibility.
