Mastering The Art of Delegation

How to delegate tasks effectively, especially in the new world of remote working, is a problem I see many business owners struggle with.

In today’s blog, I will provide a 7-step delegation system that you can follow if you are struggling with this element of your business. 

A critical tip to remember here, when I refer to delegation, I don't mean micromanaging; there is a massive difference between delegation and micromanaging.

Delegation makes you a great leader, while micromanaging makes you a terrible leader. The 7 step system I will share with you in this blog will ensure you are a brilliant leader and not micromanaging your team. 

Step 1: Deciding What To Delegate

• There are two types of tasks you need to delegate as a leader. 
• The first type of task is not the most crucial but takes up a massive chunk of your time, such as email management.
• I advise making a list of all the tasks you perform throughout the day that can be handed over to a teammate in your business, tasks that aren’t directly growing your business. 
• As the business owner, you should be striving toward only doing tasks where you are working ON your business, not IN your business. 
• Working ON your business means that you are actively working on the growth of your business and moving it forward to achieving your company goals. 
• The second type of task is critical to the company, but you don't have the required expertise to complete it. Therefore, you hire and delegate it to an expert in that field; an example of this could be operational management-related tasks. 

Step 2: Clarifying expectations & Outcome

• For example, when delegating tasks, you need to ensure that you explain exactly how to do the task. 
• Leave room for your team to ask questions if they don't understand something you have explained. 
• Make sure you explain why they are doing the task and the outcome for completing it. 

Step 3: Empower Your Staff

• Allow your employees to demonstrate what they are capable of.
• Stretch them out of their comfort zones by giving them challenging tasks, but also let them make their own decisions in the process and hold themselves accountable. 
• Empower your staff to be the best version of themselves, and if they make mistakes, encourage them to learn from those mistakes and assess where they went wrong so that they grow from the mistake. 

Step 4: Learn To Let Go

• This is the problem I see with many managers and business owners; they don't want to delegate tasks out of fear of doing them better. 
• Instead, learn to embrace your weaknesses and hire people to compensate for your weaknesses. 
• If you cannot let go, it will be the biggest roadblock to achieving the success and lifestyle you desire from your business. 

Step 5: Invest Time & Reap Rewards

• Train your staff to deliver at the highest level; if they don't, you are failing them as their leader. 
• Generally, it's not their fault if they are not performing well within their role. 
• If you are fearful of delegating tasks to your team, that means they have not been appropriately trained in their role and your business. Again this is a failure as a leader. 

Step 6: Ensure The Task Is Understood 

• After you have explained the task, delegated, and explained why the task needs to be completed, ensure that the person you are delegating to understands how to do the task by asking them to repeat what is expected of them. 
• By doing so, you will know whether or not they understood what you have requested. 

Step 7: Deadline On Task

• Provide a deadline when you need the task to be completed to avoid misunderstandings (your team can't read your mind). 
• Ask your team whether they think the time frame is achievable in relation to all other tasks they are performing. 

Mastering delegation is an art and is the only way to successfully manage your team and ensure that all your team is completing their tasks within the required time frame. In addition, delegation is the tool that will drive your business forward toward your achieving your quarterly goals. 

If you're turning business away because you don't have the team and time to cope and are struggling at hiring. I created a FREE course, The Basics Of Remote Hiring - to help teach you how to hire more efficiently and easily, so you can get back to working on the things that matter most.

Read the course curriculum and join here

Until next time I am wishing you peace, happiness, freedom, and success. 

Shannon Teague, 

CEO Of Scaling Up Simplified.