Delegation is a very important skill that you should have and develop as a business owner. It saves time and money with the added bonus of building up your team. Learning the art of delegation is important because if you don’t do it correctly, it could cause your team to become demotivated which could ultimately lead to frustration and resignation. You are then left to pick up the pieces and start all over again.
These 10 rules will be able to help you delegate successfully.
#1 Make a list
Stop wearing so many hats and start making a list. As a business owner, you often fall into the trap of doing things yourself. This gives you no time to work on your business because you are busy working in it. Instead of balancing the books yourself, hire someone who can do it in less time. Suck at making a marketing plan, get a marketing manager who has experience and can do it for you. The first step of successful delegation is to make a list of things you don’t enjoy doing, are not good at, and can be given to someone else to do so that it frees up your time.
#2 Be Patient
The first time you decide to start delegating, it will take time. Since you have been doing the task yourself, you have been responsible and also quick at it. Once you delegate, it takes time to hand over the task to one of your employees or a hired contractor or vendor. The key is to be patient – whilst this will take time, it will also be beneficial and easy in the long run.
#3 Be Clear
Once you have picked the right person to delegate the task to, it is important to be very clear in what you want achieved so that you are both on the same page. It will not help if you dump the task on to someone else without any clear guidance and goals. They will do the task inefficiently which will then create more work for you.
#4 Let it go
A very big issue faced by business owners is that they cannot let go of their work. They feel a sense of ownership which comes in the way of delegation. Consequently, this is not good for motivation or morale. Your team is relying on you for support and training. Once you delegate the task(s) and are clear on what you need, let them get on with it. If you have a problem letting go, the best solution is to start small.
#5 Use Resources for Accountability
Establishing clear tasks, rules, KPI’s and deadlines is what makes a project successful. If you are delegating a project (big or small) using tools and resources will help you with accountability and will give you a bird’s eye view without micro-managing.
Some of the best tools out there are:
- Wunderlist
- Trello
- Evernote
- Slack
#6 Dedicate an Overseer
If you have a big time, it may be worthwhile to dedicate a manager as an overseer. Instead of you looking after every aspect of the project or task at hand, hire someone or give someone in your team the responsibility to oversee the project for you. Set clear goals for the overseer so that they can successfully complete the project. This increases morale in your team, gives the overseer a chance to expand their skill set, and frees up more time for you.
#7 Use the 70% rule
If you are asking yourself – when and what tasks should you delegate – then this clever article published by Inc (https://www.inc.com/jim-schleckser/the-70-rule-when-to-delegate.html) is a must read. In short, if you appoint someone to do the task and they are able to do it at least 70 percent as well as you, delegate!
#8 Be the teacher
Use this opportunity to teach your time. One of the main reasons business owners are so busy all the time is that they want to do everything themselves. They fear that no one can do a better job than they can. Not true! Whilst you may be the expert there are things you can teach someone else to do. This proves beneficial in the long room and even though it may take longer in the interim, the benefits of freeing up your time far outweigh that.
#9 Communication
It is important that you communicate with your team. Clearly state your goals, your expectations and your deadlines. Pipe in every so often to check on progress and ask if they are on track. This is a great way to verify progress and build the relationship with your team.
#10 Feedback and Appreciation
Once the task is complete, and you have successfully delegated your list of things that can be passed on to someone else, it is important to provide feedback. If there was anything that could have been done better, you can provide training and support to improve. This will help with the delegation process. Don’t make the mistake of playing the blame game. Pass on credit where credit is due, reward performance where possible, and most importantly, remember to say Thank You!
Sonia Irani
