How to Be a Better Delegator
Are you a business owner who finds it difficult to delegate tasks? Do you become overwhelmed when there’s too much to do and not enough time? As entrepreneurs, many of us sometimes feel like we have to do everything ourselves and it can be hard for us to trust others with our work. But if you want your business to succeed, good delegation is essential. Effective delegation will free up the time you need to focus on more high-level projects and give employees an opportunity for growth. In this blog post, we'll explore how delegating tasks can help your business improve its productivity – so read on for some ideas on how to be a better delegator!
It is essential to delegate in order to successfully grow and scale. The key to effective delegation starts with building trust in your own business potential - the belief that you can step away from a project and still know that it will get done. From there, the importance of time and task management cannot be understated. These two elements work together for better efficiency, which can be maintained through an effective delegation strategy.
The Seven Levels of Delegation
As you begin to delegate tasks, start small with specific tasks that have clearly defined objectives. That way, you can gradually delegate more complex tasks as you gain greater confidence in your team while at the same time being able to measure progress accurately along the seven levels of delegation.
The seven levels of delegation provide a pathway for owners and team members to work toward mutual growth and elevated trust. From tell to delegate, each level has increasing demands in terms of trusting the team member’s capabilities to achieve the given objectives. The earliest three levels involve you explaining what must be done. However, at the mid-level stage when business owners and team members can collaborate more actively. At this tier, both parties get a chance to share their knowledge and build trust in one another.
After the fourth level, full delegating authority becomes much simpler as you learn to rely on and trust your team without having to micromanage every detail. Ultimately it leads to a situation where both parties come together and contribute effectively towards reaching the desired goals.
Trust, But Verify
The seven levels of delegation do require patience and dedication to be successful. It is important to understand that the process will take time and there may be mistakes made along the way. Mistakes are part of how we learn, and as we progress through each level, we must allow ourselves to make errors in order to better refine our delegating skills in the future. In fact, mistakes can help us discover invaluable insights into our team’s abilities and potential weaknesses — knowledge that can only be gained through experience. As you review at each level, don’t ignore the mistakes that were made. Mistakes are an opportunity to refine the process once again and learn from what didn’t work so you can improve the process in the future.
Taking this approach may prove difficult for those who seek perfection from the start, but it is necessary for building strong relationships with team members based on mutual trust and respect over time. With a positive outlook and open mind, business owners can learn from their mistakes in order to strengthen their delegating practices for greater success down the road.
Focus on Outcomes, Not Processes
As a business owner, it is important to remember that your focus should be on the outcome of the project, not just the process. The goal should be to achieve the desired results with minimum effort, and this can only be accomplished by clear communication and collaboration among team members. Everyone needs to understand their role and expectations so that they can work together effectively towards a common goal.
It is also important to ensure that all communication is clear, concise, and consistent in order to avoid misunderstandings or mistakes down the line. The quality of your end product will depend heavily on how well you communicate during the process – if you take shortcuts or make assumptions, then chances are these mistakes will show in your final product. Investing time and energy into proper communication now will pay dividends later as you move towards the successful completion of the task at hand. This means you don’t dwell on the mistake; instead use it to clarify your communication method with the team and provide feedback that focuses on a solution, not the error. Mistakes happen - focusing on the solution is essential to growing and rising above it.
Taking the time to delegate properly is worth it in the end. Your business will continue to grow as you trust yourself and your team members. Make sure you find the right one that resonates with you. That’s where Elevate comes in. Our EAs are skilled in a variety of tasks from controlling the overflow of your inbox to project management to bookkeeping and so much more. When done consistently, delegation becomes easier and will put more control back into your hands.
Don’t be afraid that others won’t do a good job - communication is key in ensuring everything gets done efficiently and effectively. As such, open lines of communication between you and your team are important for the success of your delegated tasks. No matter how much work you delegate, remember that it's ultimately up to you to ensure the quality of the outcome. Delegating can be intimidating but with trust from both sides, expectations will always be met. Scheduling a discovery call with Elevate today could be the best decision you ever make - let us help you find an EA that brings structure, purpose, and clarity to your growing business!
