Delegate for Success

If you want to be successful in business, you will need to learn how to delegate. Delegating correctly and confidently will create a holistic, nurturing business environment that encourages individuality and diversity; opinions and methods different from your own will sprout into a business of happy, dedicated employees, partners, and freelancers, all working together for the success of the business.

Delegation is not just a management strategy; it’s an essential skill that can significantly enhance your business’s efficiency and scalability. As a small business owner, learning to delegate effectively can free up your valuable time, allowing you to focus on core activities and help you manage more projects successfully.

I understand delegating can be super hard if you aren’t used to it. Perfectionism, the challenges of not having control over the result, and the desire for things to be done the way you want or are used to can be a nagging interference when you begin handing off tasks to those who are best suited to them. But it must be done. If you want to get more done with less time and focus on what you are best at, you need to master delegating tasks to others with the skills and expertise (and even passion) for those areas of your business.

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How to Delegate

1. Identify Delegable Tasks

Start by reviewing your daily activities and identify tasks that you can delegate. These are typically time-consuming tasks that do not require your specific expertise or the ones that you find repetitive and draining. Common examples include administrative duties, social media management, and basic customer service. Take out some paper and start writing down all the things you don’t like doing or can’t do due to time constraints. List them from most important to least important on another sheet of paper so that you have a prioritized running tally of all the work that needs to be done for your business.

2. Choose the Right Person

Delegating effectively means finding the right person for the job. Assess the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of your team members, or consider hiring a specialized freelancer if needed. The key is to match the task with the individual’s capabilities and areas of interest to ensure optimal outcomes. Take your paper with the list of all the activities that need to be done and jot down someone’s name or put “freelancer” next to tasks that will be done well by the person you have in mind.

Some people may be able to do multiple tasks, which makes it easier to delegate. On a task management platform like Notion or Motion, assign the tasks you have written out to the person best for the task. If you need a freelancer to complete tasks, then head over to Fiverr and use our affiliate link to sign up for great Fiverr benefits. Use Fiverr Chat to provide the task function you want and ask them to find some freelancers with great skills in that area. You can even ask them to filter by country and all sorts of other details to find your right fit. You can also post a job, but that can be time-consuming, as you’ll have applicants to wade through. I prefer to use filters and chat to cut my time finding qualified freelancers.

3. Set Clear Objectives and Expectations

When you delegate a task, be clear about what you expect the final outcome to be. Provide detailed instructions and specify the deadlines. Clear communication prevents misunderstandings and ensures that the work is done efficiently. Once you have entered the task into your task management platform, or CRM, add details to the description with your objectives and expectations. Specify if you need this task done daily, weekly, or monthly, when it’s due, and how you need it to look exactly.

4. Provide the Necessary Resources

Make sure that whomever you delegate the task to has all the tools and information needed to complete the job. This includes access to relevant documents, software, and any other resources that are essential for the task. Make sure they are properly trained on all resources. If you have doubts, then sit with them in a meeting and go over the resources, asking them to show you to demonstrate how they are used so that you feel confident that they are proficient. If they don’t know how to use the software or complete the task, then enroll them in a course or certification right away. Whenever you see a lack of knowledge, fill the gaps with the resources to build the skills, empowering your team to be able to best support your business. Be involved, be supportive, and be proactive for the best results from your team members. 

5. Empower with Autonomy

While it’s important to set clear expectations, it’s equally crucial to allow some level of autonomy. Let the person bring their own method and creativity to the task. This not only builds trust but also encourages responsibility and innovation. Don’t micromanage their process; focus on the result. I’ve seen so many business owners worry about the process, which discourages the team, creating frustration, a lack of confidence and ownership of a role, and a sense of giving up.

Remember the mother who doesn’t allow the children to do the dishes because they don’t do it right? Don’t be that mother. It’s going to take time for them to be good at the tasks you assign them, but strangling the process will make it worse. Focus on clear results and the why and how the completed task is going to be used.

6. Establish a Monitoring System

Set up checkpoints or regular updates to monitor progress without micromanaging. This could be through weekly emails, a project management tool, or regular meetings. Monitoring helps you stay informed about the progress and address any issues early on. This means you’re going to need to be very active and aware of what’s going on with your team. The more you can delegate, the better, because you will need several hours per day to make sure the people you delegate to are succeeding in their role, and to be there to support them when they need you. Schedule a meeting to go over the details once per week or month, depending on the necessity, and provide encouragement with positive reinforcement. 

7. Be Open to Feedback

Encourage open communication and be receptive to feedback from those you delegate tasks to. This can provide insights into how processes can be improved and how tasks can be better managed in the future. The more information you have early on, the better. Developing processes makes everything work so much more effortlessly, but to get there, you need to establish an environment of comfortable feedback. Allow failure, allow mistakes, and communicate about how to improve. Encourage your team to get better by using the sandwich model “build-break-build,” opening by complimenting something good, then addressing what needs to be improved, then giving them a positive solution or another example of positive feedback to build them up and leaving them high notes. Keeping your team positive and in control of their own wins and losses will develop their ability to overcome challenges. You want this!

8. Recognize and Reward Good Work

Acknowledgment and appreciation for a job well done can greatly boost morale and encourage continued excellence. Recognize the efforts of your team members and reward them appropriately. This not only fosters loyalty but also motivates others. Providing lunch on Fridays and breakfast on Mondays, as well as weekly or monthly team meetings at a restaurant, are also great rewards for hard work. You can encourage competition with monthly rewards for the best or top xyz.

Delegation is a powerful tool for growth and productivity in any small business. By mastering the art of delegation, you can enhance your operational efficiency, grow your business, and develop a strong, capable team that is ready to take on challenges. Remember, successful delegation is about maximizing your team’s strengths and ensuring that everyone is contributing effectively to your business goals. Embrace these steps and watch your business thrive!

Our networking course, Networking is Your Shortcut to Success, will help you develop relationships within your team, find the right teammates, and find the people for your network. Take the short one-and-a-half-hour course, which includes an eBook and workshops to improve your networking skills. Subscribe for more business posts, and have a lovely day.