When you start a business, you assume money is the greatest constraint. But as your business launches and you experience growth, you realize that time is actually one of the biggest factors holding you back from scaling. And in many cases, this is directly tied to your ability or desire to release control through delegation.
The Challenge of Letting Go
Many entrepreneurs struggle with delegation primarily due to a fear of losing control. When you’ve built your business from the ground up, it’s natural to feel that no one else can handle tasks with the same level of precision and dedication. This mindset, however, can lead to burnout and bottleneck your operations, preventing your business from scaling effectively.
Recognizing that delegation is not a loss of control but rather a strategic tool for business growth is the first step toward mastering it. Once you recognize the power of delegation, it becomes much easier to make decisions that allow you to offload key tasks and responsibilities through hiring, outsourcing, automation, and strategic project management.
The Benefits of Delegation
The power of delegation cannot be understated. Whether you’re a real estate investor hiring a property management company to handle day-to-day tasks or a business owner outsourcing marketing to a third party company, there are numerous benefits to taking things off your plate and putting them onto someone else’s. Here are a few:
- Enhanced Efficiency: Delegating tasks allows you to focus on core business activities that require your expertise while others handle the more routine or specialized tasks. This can significantly improve overall productivity and operational efficiency.
- Employee Development: Delegation helps in developing your team’s skills and confidence. It provides them with opportunities to handle more responsibilities and grow professionally, which can also enhance job satisfaction and loyalty.
- Scalability: For your business to grow, you cannot be the bottleneck. (Unfortunately, a lot of business owners are.) Delegating effectively ensures that the business can operate independently of any single person, including you, which is key for scaling.
- Improved Work-Life Balance: Delegation frees up your schedule, reducing stress and allowing you to focus on high-impact decisions and strategies. As a result, you’re able to spend less time working “in” your business and more time working “on” the business. This naturally results in having more free time for personal interests.
5 Important Tips for Effective Delegation
The very first key to effective delegation is to identify the tasks that you’re going to offload. Basically, this should be anything that does not require your expertise. (Which, if you’re totally honest with yourself, is probably 80 to 90 percent of the tasks you do.) These could be administrative tasks, repetitive tasks, or even areas where others on your team have more expertise. Be honest with yourself and don’t hold anything back!
Once you’ve identified the tasks that are suitable for delegation, you’ll want to implement the following tips:
- Choose the Right People: Delegate tasks based on the strengths and development goals of your team members. This means assigning responsibilities to those who have the skills or show potential and interest in those areas. (In other words, don’t wishfully delegate – delegate with purpose.)
- Set Clear Expectations: When you delegate a task, be clear about what outcomes you expect, the deadline, and the extent of authority they have in making decisions. Clear communication prevents misunderstandings and ensures accountability.
- Provide the Right Resources: Be certain that your team has the tools, resources, and training required to successfully complete the tasks. This might mean investing in training or updating your technology stack. If they don’t, you’re probably better off outsourcing to an individual or company outside the four walls of your business.
- Monitor Progress: Keep track of progress on delegated tasks without micromanaging. Set up regular check-ins to discuss challenges and successes. Provide constructive feedback to help your team improve and feel supported around the clock.
- Recognize Good Work: Do your best to always acknowledge and reward team members who handle their delegated tasks well. This boosts morale and encourages a culture of ownership and accountability – which is precisely what you’re trying to create.
Setting Yourself Up for Success
If you want to be successful, the best thing you can do is multiply your time. (This is the fastest way to multiply your results.) And while there might be several ways to do this, delegation is arguably the best path forward.
As you get more comfortable with delegation, you’ll start to realize that it isn’t as scary as you once thought it was. In fact, you’ll start to love it so much that you’ll begin proactively looking for more responsibilities to offload.
At this point, the biggest key is discernment. You don’t want to get sloppy with your delegation. Remain disciplined and proceed with purpose!
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.