Are There Any Tips to Master The Art of Delegation?

It can be overwhelming to try to do everything in your business (and do it well). To grow your business, you are going to have to learn to let go and delegate some tasks!

Delegation is a fine art. It takes time to figure out what tasks you can and can’t delegate.

It also takes time to find people that you trust to do work that you are proud of. It can be hard to let go, though you will be amazed at how much extra time you have when you start delegating.

Here are some tips to master the art of delegation so that your business can thrive!

Determine the things to delegate. It may help to write down a list of everything that you do in your business, and I mean everything! Then, determine what things you don’t like doing. What things take up way too much time? What things are so simple that it would be easy to hand off to other people?

Just because you find ten things to delegate does not mean that you have to start out that way. Pick one or two and start finding help. You have no idea how much stuff you will start delegating once you realize how much more you can get done when you are not worrying about every little thing!

Find the right people to delegate too! There are going to be some things that you could delegate to anyone. These are pretty simple to find some help. Hire someone on Fiverr.com or a Virtual Assistant to get the help that you need.

Then, there are things that are more complex. This may be your paperwork (especially around tax time), website, and other technical things. Though it may be more expensive o hand it off to someone who is specialized in those tasks, not only will you get a high-quality product, but it may not take as long as it takes you or someone else.

When delegating, give clear instructions. In order to please you, you need to let the person who you are delegating to know exactly what you are looking for. If you want something written for you, let them know how long you want it and how complex the words should be. If you are getting your website revamped, what colors do you want? How many pages? Are you going to want your own content, or do you need someone to write it too?

Then, delegate the whole project instead of just a part of it. Not only will your project look more uniform if it is done by one person, but that person may also be extra motivated knowing that you are allowing them to do the whole task.

Make the project a discussion. You want to make sure that the person you are delegating a project to is allowed to discuss it with you. Let them ask you questions about it. Ask for their feedback. Build a relationship with this person, and you will see better work. They will feel more invested in your project if you allow them to voice their opinions.

Though it is hard, learn to let go. Most business owners, especially those who have been in business for years without help, find it hard to relinquish their tasks. Instead, remember all of the other things that you can be doing (making money) while handing over certain things. The task is now out of your hand! If you have to, you can put your own spin on it once they are done with it!

Most business owners go into delegation slowly. Start with one or two tasks. Then, as you learn how much more money you can make during your spare time, you may want to delegate more.

Find quality people to work with and train them well. Think about delegation as something long-term instead of just a one-time thing. Sure, you can hand over a task here and there to whoever, but if you want to grow your business, you need to find people that you trust to do a good job the first time. Then, you can keep giving them more, knowing you are going to like what they give you back.

No matter who you hire, go through the project together. Let them know what you like and what you want them to improve on. After working together for a short time, they may be able to do the project right the first time!

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This is an excerpt from my e-book, Your Questions Answered: Top Questions About Delegation, which is available on Amazon and wherever you buy your e-books.

Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.