Delegating to Grow Your Business

Delegating When You Can to Grow Your Business Exponentially

I was reluctant to delegate anything in my business, as I was positive I could do it better myself. That didn’t work well, and it certainly didn’t allow me to scale my business. Let’s discuss delegating to grow your business.

My first experience was when I got started online and needed to set up websites, opt-in pages, and more. The frustration exhausted me, yet I was determined to learn it all and save money in the process.

When I finally threw my arms up in the air in defeat, my thinking and belief system shifted. Instead of thinking that I had to do it all, could not possibly afford to outsource these tasks to others who could easily get them done, I found someone I could barter with for what I needed. This was my first step in the process of internalizing the concept of delegating to grow your business.

This barter arrangement worked well for over a year, and then I began paying this woman for her services. I also delegated other tasks and activities and began to focus on only what I wanted to do and was good at doing.

Oftentimes, we don’t consider delegating because we worry that others aren’t competent enough to do it as well as we can. This is especially true if you’re a perfectionist. This is a big fallacy because some of your regular tasks can be done perfectly well by others and save you loads of time. When you delegate the right way, your productivity soars. You become free to focus on the core tasks that you specialize in or excel at. You have more time to spend on big projects without worrying about looming deadlines. You’ll even have time to work on yourself by learning new skills and improving your mind.

What to do when you’re ready to start delegating some of your business tasks and activities…

• Decide what and who. Identify the task and the person best able to do it. You can delegate to kids, older family members, and subordinates at work. Tasks should be suitable for the person’s skills and capabilities.

• Invest some effort into training. Some tasks may require a bit of teaching and training before you can delegate them with confidence. Walk the person through the steps of the task by having them observe you doing it. Next, allow them to do it on their own as you supervise. If you’re able to delegate several routine tasks in this way, it’s well worth the time and effort in the long run.

• Communicate clearly. Delegate by communicating the task clearly and making sure others understand exactly what they need to do. If you’re delegating someone to find information, for example, be clear on the exact information you need. If there’s a certain order to the steps of a task, be clear about that too. Additionally, do remember to set a deadline for when the task is to be completed.

• Measure outcomes. Measure the outcomes of delegated tasks regularly and give feedback to ensure that the work is achieving the correct results.

• Delegate digitally. Today, there’s a software solution for almost every task imaginable. There are software programs for bookkeeping, finance management, teamwork coordination and tracking, and even meal planning! Make tasks easier to tackle by using a digital solution and letting it do most of the work for you. It’s another great way to delegate!

Delegation may make you nervous, especially if you’re used to doing things on your own, but you can’t be a team of one forever. By delegating some of your responsibilities to a trusted third party, you’ll be able to spend more time on the things that require your expertise and build a more sustainable process—for yourself, your team, and your business.

In the short term you may have the stamina to get up earlier, stay later, and out-work the demands you face. But the inverse equation of shrinking resources and increasing demands will eventually catch up to you, and at that point how you involve others sets the ceiling of your leadership impact. The upper limit of what’s possible will increase only with each collaborator you empower to contribute their best work to your shared priorities. Likewise, your power decreases with every initiative you unnecessarily hold on to.

Sometimes it’s personal tasks that end up being the mental burden, and those might be the ones you need to delegate. In fact, we delegate more than we think when it comes to home life. Whenever you pick up takeout instead of eating in, you’re delegating your cooking duties. Whenever you get your groceries delivered, you’re delegating grocery shopping. We even delegate decision-making when we let Netflix pick our next recommended movie for us.

My advice is to embrace delegating to grow your business. Start small, by outsourcing and letting go of the things you know someone else could do better or more effectively. I began with the tech required for my online business and I immediately let go of the stress of attempting to do something I could not do well.