Small-business owners can make the mistake of taking on too much responsibility, often feeling compelled to get involved in each trivial activity and solve every minor problem, rather than delegating work to other staff members.
After all, many business owners are so emotionally invested in their companies that they have trouble letting go, worried that other employees won’t do the job as well as they would. Meanwhile, the reality is, these executives can often find themselves spread so thin keeping up with too many daily demands that they may not have time to step back and focus on the kind of long-term strategic planning that will help the business grow.
At some point when you’re running a small business, you need to realize you simply can’t do it all. Delegating is an important leadership skill, and the benefits can extend beyond easing your own workload and increasing your team’s productivity. By handing off key assignments to other employees, you’re showing you can trust them to make important decisions and are also allowing them to hone new skills that can help them develop professionally, which can often inspire better performance.
5 Steps to Effective Delegation
If every move your small business makes, both minor and major, depends on you, you might be a bottleneck that prevents your company from operating as efficiently as possible. While you’re busy scrambling to take care of an overwhelming number of tasks, other employees might be waiting on your input with little to do. Meanwhile, work can pile up and progress can stall.
Proper delegation of tasks can spread the workload more evenly among staff, so everyone can pitch in their fair share, and the job gets done more quickly and smoothly. As the idiom goes, “many hands make light work.”
Yet rather than dropping a bunch of work in other people’s laps and never looking back, successful leaders develop a thoughtful plan for delegating. To assign new responsibilities to colleagues in a purposeful way, you can learn how to delegate effectively by following these five steps.
1. Develop a Delegation Plan
To figure out the best tasks to delegate to others, consider conducting an audit of your own workload and make a list of recurring duties you can offload.
While it may be tempting to delegate mostly small and tedious tasks, like scheduling phone calls and transcribing meeting notes, you should also consider delegating some of your more important responsibilities. In some cases, several colleagues might be able to take different chunks of a time-consuming task off your hands.
For example, if your organization embarks on a new time-sensitive project, such as updating its marketing strategy, you can appoint a project manager to outline a detailed plan and provide a small group of project coordinators with clear instructions to execute the plan. While you may schedule regular check-ins with the project manager to provide feedback and determine whether the project remains on track in terms of its direction, timeline, and budget, try to let the project manager handle small hiccups and try to resist the urge to constantly step in to oversee every detail yourself.
If small-business owners are drowning in the day-to-day tasks of running their companies and don’t have time to focus on the big picture to allow their businesses to grow, it’s likely time to start delegating.
2. Choose the Appropriate Person for the Job
We all have certain tasks we struggle to complete because they don’t come easily to us. You may be adept at writing quarterly reports but have trouble creating engaging graphics to illustrate financial data. By asking around, you might be surprised to learn that someone on your team has the experience to do the job better and faster.
Before assigning tasks, consider spending time getting to know your employees, so you can match certain duties with people who have the appropriate expertise. Learn about their interests, passions, and career aspirations, so you can play to your employees’ strengths.
You may want to assign some tasks to certain staff members – and when you do, try to explain the context of the work and how it ties in with the organization’s goals. This can help employees understand the broader purpose behind the duties they’re assuming. In addition to doling out assignments, consider allowing your staff to self-select other jobs that suit their abilities. Employees may be more motivated to work hard if they can pick and choose the roles they prefer.
3. Provide Training
If your team lacks certain skills, try to avoid getting stuck in the mindset that you’re the only one who can do a particular job right. Even if no one on the team is currently capable of completing a particular task, consider providing the necessary training to pass on your knowledge – or cover the cost of external training, if needed.
In the beginning, it will probably take much longer to show people how to do something like navigate new software tools than to just do it yourself. But after spending the time and money to bring people up to speed, that investment can pay off when your input isn’t needed for those tasks any longer.
Plus, many employees may appreciate getting the opportunity to stretch their skills, try something different, and grow professionally.
4. Make Yourself Available, But Don’t Micromanage
Make sure when you hand off work that you’re not just dumping and running. If staff members are confused about what to do, it could be a recipe for chaos. In addition to coaching workers through a new assignment, try to set employees up for success by providing all the information they’ll need to do the job well. This can include examples of previous work, due dates for deliverables, and other expectations of the desired outcome, as well as tools, staff assistance, and other resources.
Once you have provided the proper guidance and employees seem ready to do the work on their own, try to establish a clear communication channel to follow up and monitor progress periodically. Consider letting employees know you’re available if they have questions, but try not to hover or micromanage. If you’re constantly inserting yourself while an employee is adjusting to a new role, you’re not only wasting time, but you might be getting in the way of progress.
Consider giving people the space and autonomy to solve problems in their own way. If you can foster a culture where people feel trusted and empowered to complete projects and make decisions without feeling second-guessed at every turn, you may likely have a happier, more loyal staff.
5. Focus on the Results
When you’re checking the work you delegated to employees, you may spot some weaknesses, but take the time to point out the specific things people did well first, since positive feedback keeps people motivated.
Constructive and even critical feedback is fine, too, but be careful not to nitpick and poke unnecessary holes in their work. Try to remember that others may have chosen an alternative path to complete an assignment than you would have taken, and in many cases, that’s perfectly OK.
Try to focus less on the process and more on the results. Does the report read well? Did the project accomplish its goals? During a debriefing, you may want to not only share your own observations but also get your employees’ input. Try to ask about the parts that went smoothly, the obstacles that arose, and any additional support they need going forward.
Also, consider taking the time to show genuine appreciation for your colleagues’ assistance. Publicly thanking people for pitching in and crediting those who excel in their new responsibilities can help boost morale, reinforce positive behavior, and build trust and respect.
The Bottom Line
If small-business owners are drowning in the day-to-day tasks of running their companies and don’t have time to focus on the big picture to allow their businesses to grow, it’s likely time to start delegating. Learning how to delegate effectively can help save time, improve productivity, and increase your employees’ commitment to your organization.
A version of this article was originally published on July 30, 2020.
Photo: Getty Images
