Delegating Faster
Running your business is tough, and there’s a never-ending stream of tasks and to-do’s waiting for you to complete. Once you get those done, more will be waiting just around the corner. It’s exhausting!
The best businesses learn early on that their time is valuable and they need to delegate. The trouble is, most of them have no idea how to delegate or manage others to complete those tasks. Or they think they are the only ones that can do it right and are afraid to give it up.
You need to let go! If you want your business to grow and you want to alleviate some stress and free up time, it’s critical that you delegate.
There are some simple steps that you can take to delegate tasks faster and do it well. However, only if you’re willing to let go…
So before we move on, let’s agree that you will be willing to use these steps to delegate at least 1 task from your list this week. That small step can create the momentum you need to delegate more in the future.
Steps to Take to Delegate
Step #1: Review Your List
The first step to delegating is identifying the tasks or task that you need to get off your list. The easiest way to find these tasks are to look at the things that happen frequently that you don’t need to be doing—or the ones that you keep putting off because other things are a higher priority.
If you’re constantly putting something off, it’s likely it’s not really that important. Therefore, you can either eliminate it or delegate it.
If you’re looking to really leverage your time, find a repetitive task that takes up your time that could be done by someone else. Winning back just an hour or two a week can add up to some serious progress in your business.
Creating a list of the items that you want to immediately delegate will help you organize your thoughts and create a priority list.
Step #2: Determine Who Is Responsible
The next step in delegation is assigning accountability and responsibility for the task. If you have a team or admin to help you out, look at their position description and their responsibilities in your organizational chart.
Should this task fall to them? If it’s obvious they should be doing it, then the decision is easy. If not, you can figure out if they can or should be doing it and start the delegation process.
Listing the responsible person is just the first piece of the puzzle though! You’ll also want to figure out how much authority you’re giving the person with the task.
Make sure to answer the following:
- Do they need approval from you to complete it?
- Will they need consult with you or others before completing it?
- Do they have full authority to complete it?
Knowing what level of authority they have and ownership of the task will help you hold them accountable in the future.
If you don’t have a team, you can start by hiring an admin or outsourcing some of your tasks to third parties. For example, you could hire Bench.co to do your bookkeeping if you need to get that off your plate instead of hiring a bookkeeper.
Step #3: Create a Specific Process
Creating a process or specific instructions for completing the task is critical to your success. Spending a little time on the front-end will save you lots of headaches later.
Understand that specifics and details aren’t the same. Be clear about the task that you are delegating and determine if it requires a process to complete.
Most tasks will follow a process. It’s your job to figure out how detailed that process should be.
When creating a process, remember that 20% of the actions taken will get you 80% of the results you desire. Focus your energy on identifying and training the individual on those 20% instead of worrying about the minutia.
If you hire the right people, they will be able to make decisions on the rest. Also, be clear in describing the task at hand and thorough in the creation of your process.
Step #4: Delegate and Train
The final step in delegating more of your tasks is to meet with the individual that you are delegating the tasks to and establish some ground rules and expectations.
First, make sure they understand each task and the authority level you are giving them. You don’t want to leave anything to chance with this. You need to ensure they “get it”.
Second, make sure they understand how to perform the task and the levels of performance that are acceptable and expected. There needs to be a clear outcome set and parameters for success.
If you can tie this to a metric or number in your business do it! That will help you measure success and hold the person accountable.
Train the individual on the task you are delegating to them, and make sure they know how to perform all the actions necessary.
Be prepared to expect that this person will perform the task at 80% of the level you would do it. That’s usually the case for high level tasks, but in many cases for lower level tasks they will actually perform it better than you!
Summary
If you want to grow as a business owner, you need to learn to delegate. Following these simple steps will allow you to get things off your plate and focus on higher priority items—or just get back some time to actually have a life!
Remember…
- Review Your List
- Determine Who Is Responsible
- Create a Specific Process
- Delegate and Train
Delegate Faster With Coaching
The FR Coaching Programs and Success Coaches help business owners like you create systems and plans to delegate tasks quicker and easier so that you can grow your business faster.
We’ve got tools and resources that make this easier! If you’d like a little help to grow your business, apply for our coaching program today.
