Can you really make delegation work for your business?

As successful entrepreneurs we all come to a point where it’s time to begin enlisting the help of others and delegating tasks in order to continue growing. It’s not as easy as it sounds though. Usually we have a mountain of tasks we handle for our business. We know how to do them and do them well. Much of it is in our head and this is our business, our baby. What if someone screws it up? We have to learn to delegate effectively in order to grow. If we don’t it can become the most tedious part of running the business.

Personally, this was NOT an easy game to figure out. When I started letting go of things I couldn’t figure out why it didn’t seem to be working. It was like being sucked into a time warp. Teach someone a task and they’d make mistake after mistake. Or they’d take forever to do it. Or they’d get frustrated or bored and quit. I started thinking to myself, “Maybe I’m just not made to delegate at all!” I did a little research and quickly realized I was doing a crappy job setting myself up for success. Just like any goal we set out to achieve beings successful at delegating is a process. And when a great process is used well, we can maximize results and minimize the time it takes. Here’s the process we use to ensure successful delegation and management of any tasks, big or small.

• 1) Acceptance. It’s time to start delegating. If you or anyone on your team is feeling overwhelmed OR you know you could be growing more BUT you just don’t have time. It’s time to find help.
• 2) Master Task List. What’s being done? List everything you or anyone on your team is regularly doing … big and small. Make this a resource for your business as you continue growing.
• 3) Process Definition. Every task has a process of completion. Start to finish. What step by steps complete every task for your business? Document this. Don’t assume that “simple” tasks “shouldn’t” need this. The clearer the process is defined, the easier it is to duplicate.
• 5) Systemization. Systems make duplication efficient. What’s the system that supports completing the task? How does someone know they completed a task successfully? How do you know things are getting done?
• 4) Prioritization. Decide what needs to be delegated, in which order. Beware of giving away the tough stuff first. Prioritize the list of tasks in order of lowest to highest value. What generates revenue vs what’s just busy work?
• 6) Leverage. Focus on your strengths. Invest in people or outsource to professionals so you can create the build the additional revenue to offset the costs and increase profitability. If you outsource be ready to adapt to a different process and system. Conversely, when you delegate internally be sure put in place quality training and consistent review.

When we have quality products and services that the world needs there always comes a time where we have to expand beyond ourselves. Either we learn to let go of our baby and ask for help or we stop growing our business and settle for our current level of performance. If we want to continue growing we have to learn to delegate and, more importantly, do so effectively. What is the number one thing YOU need to do in your business to delegate better? Share in the comments and share this post with someone you know!

Image by Brooke Lark