Achieve Business Success by Mastering the Art of Delegation

If a business owner doesn't know how to properly delegate, you lose time, money, and productivity. Learn how to improve delegation in business here.

Successful companies, especially startups, tend to grow by over 100 percent in their first year alone. This growth means everyone must spread out their focus as the company expands, so workers need to start to delegate work to other employees. However, how does a company owner such as yourself do this in a way that feels comfortable and effective?

This article will help you by laying out some of the best advice to help you achieve a high level of delegation in your business. As you read all the advice below, try to make a note of how it applies to your own situation and work out what changes you need to make to ensure it succeeds.

Rethink Delegation

Some see delegation as an indicator of failure. If you are one of these people, you need to rewire how you view delegation.

Delegation does not mean someone is overworked and unable to complete their business. It instead means you have reached a stage of business growth where you have enough work to pass on to others.

In addition, not all managers need to be hands-on all the time. In fact, this often leads to micromanagement or a strange power imbalance. For example, where those with "boots on the ground" are trying to make decisions alongside their superiors.

By delegating to competent and skilled individuals you can be assured about the company's capacity to take on and successfully complete additional work. Moreover, you’ll be developing future leaders and making everyone feel more engaged in what they are doing.

The Right Environment for Delegation

Before you start delegating work down the chain, it is essential that you foster an appropriate company environment. Everyone must view delegation is a sign of success. It shows you are growing because of how well the company is executing.

Before making big changes, you need to communicate to your company the fact you are likely to experience a period of challenges as everyone adjusts to the new environment. You should stress that challenges come with their own rewards, and that you will support your employees as you go through them together.

This will help you create a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. In such an environment, you will find delegation is an expected, if not celebrated, act. Those receiving work will start to feel they are being recognized and growing in their career by helping the company succeed.

Make it a point to recognize managers and employees who are doing a great job in the new environment because recognition telegraphs that this is the performance you want and it will be rewarded.

Delegate By Leading

One of the main skills of delegation is couched in the skill of leading. The following are a few ways you can assure you lead well.

Ask for help.

You may have seen the metaphor of the man on the sedan chair. If he is sitting on the sedan chair, telling people carrying him where to go, will people think of him as a leader or an overseer? What if he is carrying the chair alongside others?

When delegating, try to frame it as a request for help. Do not order someone to take part in an activity but talk to the person you delegate to as though you are asking for their assistance.

Doing this allows them to explain their own backlog, and you may realize you need to unblock other issues around them first. You can then act as a manager who empowers your employees rather than overworks them.

Explain why you chose that person first.

When you bring someone on board to delegate tasks to them, start by going over the reasons why you chose them to take the task on. Some may think this is buttering them up, but in truth, you are trying to explain to them why you think they are perfect for the role.

This helps to introduce someone to many of the challenges they are like to experience in the role. They can then apply the learning they have gained while engaging in similar tasks to their future work. This will prevent them from having concerns about their suitability for the role.

Preparing to Delegate

Before you delegate tasks to your team, there are a few things you should do beforehand. You want to make sure you're approaching the project with a thought-out plan.

Manage priorities.

First, you want to look at your own work before anyone else's. Try to decide what work needs to finish before all others and determine whether you are the one who should engage with it.

Sorting these priorities might help you avoid unnecessary work. For example, learning a new skill set when others in the company are better suited.

Choose who receives the work.

Look through the list of employees you have and work out who suits the work best.

You may have to dig into each person’s resume and personnel file, even hold one-to-one interviews. This can help you work out if your workers have the specializations necessary to give you the best level of quality in their work.

In some cases, it may turn out you need to contact external agencies or third parties to hire new people who can complete the tasks you need to delegate.

Give clear instructions and boundaries.

You should always practice open and honest communication in the workplace.

Talk to the person taking on your tasks before they start. Make sure you delineate their role in a clear and precise way. Also, inform them of what they should not be working on to avoid any confusion. 

Offer feedback.

After a set period of time, such as a week or a month, check in with them about how well they are doing. Allow them to ask questions and draw out anything that is holding them back. Finally, offer them feedback on the work they have done and help those who seem to be struggling by investing in skill or management/leadership training.

Nobody expects them to be perfect right out of the gate – or even ever – but you should try to get them to your level of skill and speed as soon as you can.

Learn More About Delegation in Business

With this advice, you should be on your way to handling delegation in your business environment with ease. Still, there might be more you want to learn, and not enough time to learn it.

No one is a born leader or manager; it is a learnable skill. Some people will be better at it naturally, like throwing a baseball, but all become better “players” with a coach to speed their development.

That’s why you should discover business coaching, it’s the shortcut to high productivity, growth, and employee loyalty. Let’s talk about your fast-growing company and ways you can grow even faster while gaining more “think time” and comfort knowing your team is on target.