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Suffice it to say that entrepreneurs need a large number of skills in their arsenal to cope with the problems they face every day. One of these skills is the art of delegation.
If you work in a small business with a few employees at home, or if you work alone and get support from freelancers – or do neither, but clearly need support from others – you need to make sure you understand what is needed for each a great delegate, writes the news site UkrNews24.net
Because, indeed, you learn it well, and your own role in your company can become extremely pleasant. And if you have ambitions to grow into one big company, it is very important to learn to use the skills of others. In fact, if you can deliver work effectively, you have a much better chance of achieving your growth goals.
To be clear, delegation is much more than just making someone do something. Delivery is one thing, and delivery and receiving high quality is quite another.
As with most things in business, it's a delicate balance and involves a set of skills that you need to constantly improve.
On that note, let's now consider some key points for effective delegation.
1. Decide what to delegate Although it may seem simple, the cornerstone of successful delegation is deciding what tasks you should complete. Many people fall into the trap of doing tasks they no longer want to do, instead of taking the time to decide what is best for someone else to do.
Before delegating any task, fully evaluate all the different tasks you think you'd like to delegate, and honestly ask yourself which ones should stay with you (at least for now).
In any case, the first tasks you delegate should be small and not too time-sensitive. You want to feel the working process between you and others and again find that balance - the one that will lead to consistently high quality work performed by others. It is better to start small and increase the scale, rather than to start with larger tasks and deal with the risk of extremely important work done poorly.
2. Find the right people. Once you have decided on the areas in which you are going to start delegating, the next task is to find a suitable person for delegating. Get it wrong, and you're likely to find yourself in one of two scenarios – doing low-quality work or doing the work yourself.
This may seem obvious, but the fact is that many "delegates" simply give to those who are available, and not to those who are best suited for the role. Perhaps there is a little laziness. After all, searching for a suitable person requires time and effort. But it is much better to spend this time and make efforts in advance than to spend it on correcting mistakes that have been made.
3. Sign up, but don't stop welcoming Letting Go - one of the most difficult skills for entrepreneurs. But it is necessary to master it, because knowing when to lead and when to step back is absolutely necessary for successful delegation. Of course, you should know that the work is going on, especially when delegating a task for the first time, but there is too much micromanagement, and you may also have completed the task yourself!
A couple of things will help here: first, learn to properly trust others. In this sense, "letting go" means letting go of those thoughts that have convinced you that no one can do the job as well as you. Just remind yourself that no one can really do it "exactly" like you would.
The second way is to check at the right time and not stick around for too long. Define in advance what "milestones" are, and specify that you would like to have a quick (and make it quick and not take too long) look at things as you complete each of these milestones.
4. Remember that you can delegate both upwards and downwards Perhaps the biggest mistake people make when delegating is thinking that they can only delegate fairly simple or doable tasks. For example, how often have you looked down at your to-do list and decided to allocate only basic administrative tasks with the mindset that only you have to solve the heavy workload?
In fact, delegation is a great way to bring experience that we don't have, and the more you do it, the better you can turn your company into something bigger. So, going back to point two above, take the time to find the right people – and not only for basic tasks, but also for much more complex ones.
Remember that you are here to take care of your business. The fact that you know how to handle your taxes and bills does not mean that you are the most prepared for it. Likewise, just because you know your business better than most doesn't mean you're the most qualified to market or sell it.
The bottom line: Use delegation as an opportunity to expand your skill set to grow your business—which, after all, is your number one job.
5. Once you've hacked the ego, run with it. Once you've figured it out, make the delegation the main path. This means that you can immediately move from the tasks to the table and go to them from the moment they arrive, offering you almost free to decide how much you ultimately have to do yourself. Ideally, if you can progress to this, you really are the boss and are set up to allow you to achieve more growth if you want to.
Another way to look at it is if you can pass on one or two things, can't you pass on five or ten or everything? You can, actually. This is what managers and general directors do. Then they work more on strategy, as well as on maintaining coordination and operational efficiency.
Just know that you can find your balance here. If you want to participate, you can participate at any level. If you feel that you like to be in the center of events and want to perform a number of tasks, do it. Just know that outsourcing most things is technically feasible, and this is one option that is especially useful for entrepreneurs as they strive to maintain a healthy balance sheet.
Don't get stuck
When you have a to-do list longer than you have on hand, finding time to delegate can end up looking like just another "to-do". But if there were ever any words when it came to you, the entrepreneurs and the delegation, they would sound like this: "Just do it." Because this is what is needed here. Just pass. Just take the problem off the plate.
Now, of course, you'll want to follow some of the five rules listed above. Finding the right people, communicating the right things, maintaining the right level of communication, etc. And as with any skill, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. Therefore, apply the rules from the beginning and stick to them while you work on mastering delegation.
Finally, keep in mind that there are many advantages. Getting it right is not only the key to growing your business, but also the key to achieving greater balance as an entrepreneur. Delegation makes or breaks in this regard.
