Growing a business requires letting go of some of the hats that business owners and entrepreneurs have been wearing from day one. That means delegation to other team members. But there’s more to delegation than simply handing over a task or project. You need a consistent process that includes understanding the outcomes, setting expectations and providing support systems that set up the team for success.
Understand your goals and prepare a plan before you begin delegation, whether your project is tactical or strategic. Provide resources, support, feedback and systems that your teams need to complete projects and tasks.
One challenge is that small-business owners and executives lead at a tactical level. Many business owners and CEOs in startups, small businesses and even some medium businesses suffer from burnout. They’re involved in every single business activity and every task or have become the bottleneck because they don’t delegate.
Read More : How to Grow Fast as an Entrepreneur?
Delegation, in many ways, requires a shift from operating the business to leading it. Here are the 5 steps executing your delegation plan into action,
Understand What You Want to Delegate and Why?
If you don’t know what you want to delegate, start by keeping a log for three to five days of all your daily activities. Use 15 to 30 minute blocks and write down a list. Then ask yourself, which of those activities really need your time and attention. This method helps provide clarity not only on where you spend your time but also on what is not in your zone and what you need support with.
The things you want to delegate first are the ones that you either don’t feel very competent and confident in, or things that are repeatable tasks that somebody else on your team can do. Procrastinating on a task or falling behind schedule is typically a sign that it requires delegation.
Prepare A Delegation Plan and Strategy
A common mistake leaders make is not spending enough time planning before delegating. Preparing for what you want to delegate is huge, and that’s where the process often goes off the rails. Planning includes defining the desired outcomes, understanding the required steps or process, setting measurable goals and figuring out the support systems needed.
Use the SMART method for setting the objectives and outcomes. SMART stands for
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant, and
- Time-Bound
Once you have plan, create written standard operating procedures, or SOPs. SOPs will help you avoid re-creating a process from scratch when you delegate to a new person or an employee leaves the company.
Choose The Right Person for The Task
Whether you’re delegating a tactical or strategic activity, choosing the right person will impact the end result. Spend a lot of time getting to know your employees, including their strengths and weaknesses and their career aspirations.
While many business leaders delegate to improve their productivity, the primary motivation is to give employees, the opportunity to gain experience and confidence. So they can further both the business and their careers.
Set Expectations, Both for Outcomes and The Process
Setting clear expectations at the outset will help you avoid micromanaging a project. Expectations include outcomes, deadlines, deliverable format, checkpoints and communication processes. Ask them for their ideas, makes them an active partner in the process.
Learn More : 7 Ways to Use Stress Management to Get Up and Running Quickly as Entrepreneur
Make sure to proactively check in to see if support is needed, but not to question whether the tasks are done or not. Former action fosters support, empowerment and encouragement. While, the latter adds pressure.
Even with set expectations, it’s important to maintain flexibility because the situation may change. Delegate a project, it’s theirs to own. Let the team know that if they start doing something and realize there’s a better way, they should make changes.
Provide Feedback, Support and Resources
Whether you’re working with a seasoned employee or someone new to the business, ensure you’re offering the support and resources to accomplish the task. This could include anything from connecting the individual to another expert within the company, to creating a mechanism for asking questions, to setting up checkpoints for providing feedback.
Part of setting yourself up for success is making sure that your delegates have access. Do they have access to people, resources, tools, systems and processes they need to be successful? Keep in mind that someone new to the job will likely need a higher level of support. It’s also important to make sure you don’t overwhelm a new employee by delegating too much in the beginning.
Conclusion
Do it step by step, and once you see mastery, then delegate more things. Lastly makes sure to debrief at the end asking what went well, what questions remain, what obstacles came up and what training may be needed.
For those new to delegation, all the steps may feel overwhelming. Soon, it gets easier as you become better at it. If you follow a process, you’ll learn from that and next time it feels like it takes a few less steps. It’s because you’re learning as you go and even if you’ve failed, those who choose to learn from failure will be able to grasp what it really takes to be successful in delegation.
Do You Know More on Steps for Executing Your Delegation Plan into Action? Please share your knowledge by commenting on them at Trdinoo for others to learn. Please subscribe and share us with your friends and networks.
