Are You Delegating Enough?
"No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit."
~ Andrew Carnegie
As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. In the span of a typical day, you may be a designer, an artist, a fabricator, a project manager, and a salesperson. That’s just Monday. Who knows what the rest of the week might bring. It can be easy to get overwhelmed, leading to disillusionment and burnout.
One way to avoid this fate is by delegating. For a businessperson, delegation can be a challenge. After all, you didn’t get where you are by letting someone else do the work for you. There are also the uncertainties that come with a loss of direct control. How do you know the job will get done right? Wouldn’t it be easier to just do it yourself?
Done properly, delegation can be just what you need to take your business farther. According to a Gallup study, CEOs who excel in delegating, generate 33 percent higher revenue. Delegation can free you up to focus on higher level challenges while also keeping employees engaged. It’s the perfect win-win.
The key with delegation is to know when and how. Not every task can be delegated. Performance reviews or meeting with the CEO of another company probably should be handled in person. However, many day-to-day tasks can be assigned to someone else. That person may even be better at it than you are. Assigning them important tasks can be a great way to increase engagement and build trust with your team.
Of course, you can’t simply foist work off on someone else. Before delegating you need to have a conversation with the person who is taking on the assignment. Discuss your expectations with them, including the desired outcome. Give them the level of authority they’ll need to get the job done as well as set up clear communication channels in case things don’t go as expected.
You’ll need to be patient sometimes. The task may be new to the person you’ve assigned it to, meaning it may take them longer to complete it than you would at first. That’s okay. Be ready with constructive feedback to help them along. If you’ve chosen the person wisely, they’ll be better at it than you are before you know it.
Just like Carnegie said, don’t be afraid to share credit. Everyone wants to feel their contributions are valued, so let them know they’re appreciated. It creates a better, more positive work atmosphere for everyone involved.
As your business grows, delegation becomes inevitable. If you learn to use it effectively, you can turn your staff into a tight-knit, unstoppable team and keep your sanity intact at the same time.