‘I don’t trust that anyone else will do it to my standard’.
‘I don’t want to delegate because I don’t trust that they will do the job properly’.
You would be surprised how often we hear this.
There is only a limited amount any one person can do no matter how hard or how many hours you work a day.
Delegation is a major key to maximising your productivity and in being able to scale your business. The problem is, delegation is a scary topic and a lot of small businesses are unwilling to delegate unless they REALLY have to both because of a lack of trust and also a lack of time.
But like any other skill, delegation can be learned and is a sign of being a great leader.
You need to learn to let go.
I get it, your business is your baby that you have built with your bare hands. But this is one of the biggest problems that we come across! Business owners and leaders really struggle with the inability to let go.
Learning to accept that you can’t do everything yourself is incredibly important and it’s the first step in the delegation process.
So start small. Don’t suddenly try and delegate out your whole role. Take it in small steps. Build relationships and trust with your team and keep increasing the level of what is being delegated.
For your team to be successful, you will eventually have to let go.
Always include instructions and the resources that they need to get the job done.
By giving a complete set of instructions, you know that the team member will be able to achieve the same set outcome that you have been Make sure that you test the instructions before giving these over.
Also make sure you include information around timelines, what to do if they hit a roadblock etc.
If they require resources such as software access, make sure they have it.
Make sure you are delegating to the right people
Just because Lucy has the smallest workload at the moment, doesn’t necessarily mean she is the right person to be taking on the new task. Know your teams strengths and weaknesses and match the requirements of the task to the right person.
Empower your team with the new responsibility. Explain to them why they have been chosen. Delegation isn’t just about helping with your workload. It’s about allowing the people that work for you to develop new skills and gain knowledge which helps to prepare them for more responsibility in the future.
Acknowledgement and giving thanks
If you see great work, acknowledge it then and there. Don’t wait until the weekly team meeting or a month later. Give thanks when thanks is due.
Remember that when you first delegate a task, that person will take a little longer to complete it than what you do as they are learning. Be patient and allow for some extra time during those early stages.
