Effective Delegating

As your business grows, you may find that you are stuck behind mounds of paperwork and/or email.  If so, you will definitely see immediate results if you start delegating.  It is one of the most effective tools in time management that exists.  Learn to teach, delegate and trust the process.  It is well worth the investment!

Getting things done through others is fundamental if you want to free up time to perform the work that truly requires your expertise.  If you want to live a fulfilling life, you also need to free up some physical and emotional energy to pursue the things that matter most to you including the high-level work.

Look at your current responsibilities and identify what you are most passionate about and what you are best at doing.  For all of those items that are not on this list, decide what you can drop all together and what you can delegate.  Work should always be done by the lowest competent level.  In other words, you should ask yourself with every project, “does this really need to be completed by me?  If not, then who?”  Determine the next level down and ask the same question.  Continue going down the ranks of those over which you have authority to delegate until you stop at the individual who is the lowest, but is still able to handle that particular task.

There are many reasons why people do not delegate.  Here are three typical reasons:

Ø      It would be quicker to do it myself (short-term thinking)

Ø      I can do it better myself (perfectionist thinking)

Ø      I don’t have anyone I can trust to delegate it to (requires an investment in training/mentoring)

But think of delegating in this way - by willing to allow others to learn and take charge and to trust people, you can generate some incredible learning and advancement opportunities for individuals with less knowledge and skill while maximizing your productivity and job satisfaction.  Success does not just add to your achievements, it multiplies them.  The absence of effective delegation will slow down your progress faster than anything else.  If you want to leverage your time, delegation is essential.  It is called letting go! 

Do these statements apply to you?

Most nights and weekends I take work home.

It always seems like I have more to do than my subordinates.

I do not have time to do much planning.

I have problems meeting deadlines.

I am a perfectionist and pride myself in doing everything perfectly.

I wish I had more time for family, recreation and vacations.

I rarely ask for opinions from subordinates.

I have difficulty trusting subordinates to do things right.

It is hard for me to accept ideas from others. 

I secretly feel that letting go of tasks makes me less important and/or that I have less of a handle on things.

If you answer “yes” to several of these statements, you are a candidate for learning to delegate.  To get started, use the following ideas to ensure delegation success!

1.      Select the right person for the job.

2.      Start with small tasks and build up to larger ones as the person develops their skills.

3.      Provide enough information and delegate through dialogue.

4.      Delegate the entire job and give the person full authority.

5.      Establish deadlines, accountability and follow-up dates.

6.      Establish parameters, conditions and terms up front.

7.      Provide the necessary resources.

8.      Give positive and corrective feedback.

9.      Offer guidance and advice without interfering.

10.  Provide back-up and support as necessary.

11.  Focus on the results, not the process.

Once the project is complete, give full credit and recognition to the person who gets the job done.  If the delegate is unsuccessful, take the brunt of the blame yourself rather than using him or her as a scapegoat.  Learn from the experience so you can delegate more effectively, provide more training or delegate the next project to a different person.

Whether they are purposely using this tool or it has become an ingrained subconscious habit, successful people effectively delegate.  Delegating is elevating!