Numerous ambitious leaders often burden themselves with an overwhelming array of tasks.
Attempting to tackle everything simultaneously makes it highly improbable to deliver top-notch quality, as one individual cannot replace the expertise of ten specialists. Taking on an excessive workload renders it impossible to independently propel a business forward and elevate it to new heights. That's where Delegation comes in.
In this article, you'll learn how to swiftly accelerate your business development by hiring employees, effectively distributing responsibilities, and mastering the art of delegation.
Mastering the Art of Delegating Responsibilities
Not all business owners delegate responsibilities. Part of the reason this often happens is due to negative experiences and poor delegation skills. Imagine the manager who hired qualified specialists, but during the first serious task, the new employees disrupted the terms of the delegated task, made a lot of mistakes, and could not deliver the expected results.
In this case, the entrepreneur decides that no one can handle the tasks better than him.
After that, he plunges into the abyss of the work process, dealing with a mountain of urgent tasks. His head builds strategies, and he’s engaged in administrative tasks, marketing, taking customer requests, project management, leading social networks, and running ads. His attention is spread too thin, and he's having difficulty resulting in rapid resource depletion and eventual burnout.
This scenario is far from a recipe for the company's prosperity. Every effective leader faces fear, barriers, and challenges as they navigate the realm of business ownership. So let’s unlock the secrets to overcoming these obstacles and delve into the world of effective delegation solutions.
5 Steps To Delegating Effectively
Right Tasks to the Right Team Members
An effective delegation process requires a strategic approach when it comes to a small company with an established team.
The first step is to distribute the task within the team based on the motivation and competence levels of the employees. If you're in the beginning stages of your career and struggling with motivation and abilities, using a directive control approach may help achieve better results.
Providing the clearest possible instructions on how to accomplish the tasks promptly proves beneficial for the desired outcome. But, and this is important, clearly describe the desired outcome!
Conversely, when the team members demonstrate outstanding skills and motivation, it's ideal to delegate responsibility. Granting autonomy allows them to decide how to approach tasks most effectively. Let them decide how to get there, but you still clearly describe the desired outcome.
Feel Confident From Day One
If you are an effective delegator, the quality of your performance won't decrease. Consequently, you won't have to spend extra time correcting errors or redoing tasks for employees. Good managers of small and medium companies usually delegate routine tasks to free up enough hours to allow for their own strategic planning.
Small business owners might delegate tasks in which they are not experts to someone with the necessary skill sets. In planning, the manager decides whether performing the task himself, delegating it to employees, or outsourcing it is more expedient.
You still need to provide clear instructions to the members of your team. In addition, you should demonstrate examples of previous tasks and ensure you set clear expectations. This is often referred to as “Painting Done” for your team.
– Brené Brown
“Painting done” means fully walking through my expectations of what the completed task will look like, including when it will be done, what I’ll do with the information, how it will be used, the context, the consequences of not doing it, the costs—everything we can think of to paint a shared picture of the expectations. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have.
Unlocking the true potential of task delegation revolves around a crucial objective: handpicking the perfect tools and skillfully assigning specific tasks to the most suitable individuals. This strategic combination ignites a powerful synergy. It enables your team to do a good job and exceed expectations, delivering remarkable results that align perfectly with your desired outcome.
Motivate And Allow For Learning
Even a skilled employee performs poorly on assigned tasks if they don't feel motivated to perform them. In his book “Delegation and Management,” Brian Tracy writes that the positive motivation of employees works for the result much better than intimidation, insults, and punishments. If employees are highly motivated, they solve tasks faster, better and make fewer mistakes in the process.
The level of motivation is assessed through communication. It's good when employees speak directly about their attitude toward their new responsibilities, but this is not always the case. If an employee has taken on a task because he has to, but it's not interesting or difficult to perform, there will be a lot of hitches and mistakes in the process.
In this case, the best thing to do is to discuss their view of the task further.
Communicate Effectively
Allocate the necessary resources to the employee, check the conditions for the task, and provide information and additional support. Your employee will be fully prepared to complete the task if you delegate correctly.
You'll only need to check the results of his work. On the other hand, you will be able to take care of matters that fall into the “important” category. It’s better to spend an hour explaining a task to a subordinate and 15 minutes controlling it than wasting time daily on repetitive tasks.
These measures will allow you to increase your productivity, improve the professionalism of your employees, and address the biggest challenges.
Ensure your team is aware of your high-performance expectations. By clearly communicating your standards, you'll encourage many individuals to meet or even exceed them.
However, it's crucial to have a deep understanding of your own objectives and desires. Before conveying those expectations to your staff, you should ensure clarity and alignment.
Set The Delegation Boundaries
Managers and their teams are responsible for distinct key results areas, encompassing tasks contingent on their respective skills and experience levels. Employees might not be able to perform tasks from the area of the manager's core competencies – they might lack the skills, experience, or understanding of the business strategy. Best to clearly understand your teams' strengths and areas they are still learning.
The manager can't delegate these tasks to employees, but he can ask them for help. For example, you can't ask a specialist to find a new employee on his own – they may not see the big picture: how many and what tasks need to be completed at the level of the entire department. Perhaps a great growth opportunity for that team member would be to ask them to participate in the interview and ask questions.
Empower Your Business
Delegation is a complex art that can and should be learned. At CorEthos, we will help you to master the art of delegation leading to a successful business. Let’s have a call and help you build the entire process! We'll work with you to define tasks you should delegate and what important activities others shouldn't perform in your business.
As the founder of your business, you'll see the bigger picture and improve your decision-making when working on big projects. In addition, we’ll warn you about the mistakes new managers often make when delegating and share tips on dealing with lots of ongoing responsibilities most efficiently.
Contact us today–unleash the untapped potential of your business's growth journey!
