Delegate to grow the business. Become a better leader
Most people enjoy learning something new. It gives them a sense of purpose or understanding. When you delegate, you help another person learn a new task. However, many people delegate incorrectly, creating problems, distrust, anger, and frustration. If you can relate to one of those words when you attempted to delegate, then you know what I mean. Suppose you do not want to entrust because you don’t want your staff to make a mistake, then good for you. However, you will never grow, never be a good leader and never reach beyond what you are currently doing unless you find a way to automate. This is why many small businesses fail to grow. Delegating well is an art. It is typically not something inherent in any of us. We have to learn how to delegate.
Where to start? Look at your to-do list for the week. Pick something you don’t enjoy. This is a great place to start. It must be something with a start and a stop to provide instructions on how to complete the task.
My assistant helped me better delegate, which was the benefit of sending her to a class to be a good assistant. This person is now running a business, so money well spent. My assistant and I would review my list of things I wanted to complete for the week. If you are not doing this now, it is time to start. If you need help with this, see my coaching options page. https://ocgrowthadvisors.com
My to-do list was typically a page long, if not longer. As we went down the list, she would ask questions about each item and, for some of the tasks, would say, “I can do that.” For each thing she thought she could complete, we would move it to her list. Once we determined the 5 or 6 items she could take off my plate, I explained each task if it needed additional explanation. We would check in on each of the tasks daily or every other day, depending upon how busy we were.
Once complete, I checked her work. Many of you miss this step. Then, when the job is wrong, you get angry. Guess what. If the work is incorrect, it is your fault. However, if you have charged the same project to the same person multiple times, reviewed with them what needs to be corrected, and they still get it wrong, it is not your fault.
Start delegating carefully. Part of delegating is learning how each person hears instructions and understands the task or job. Pick something relatively simple and select a person who has the necessary skill set to learn the job. I once attempted to have a brilliant person with organizing a kitchen assist me with organizing my office. It failed miserably because that person had never worked in an office before and did not understand the first thing about office work.
I started with delegating communication I needed for several people or events. My assistant typed out what she thought was a good letter. Of course, I corrected it to my style. However, she put the bones on the work and finishing the correspondence was reasonably straightforward. We reviewed the corrections I thought necessary, so next time, she completed the correspondence with fewer revisions.
One thing you might want to delegate is the documentation of procedures. Writing procedures is difficult for so many people, but so important. Ask the person you have chosen for the task to create an outline. Once done, review the outline with the person. Often, steps are missing. Expand on the procedure with details around each step. Again, this must be someone who is used to writing or has training in writing. It is unfair to assume that everyone is capable of writing procedures. If I want to document procedures, and the person performing operations is not a writer or has no business writing experience, I assign a person to them who can write and make this a team project.
Once the procedure is complete, please review the documentation to verify its accuracy. The adage Trust but Verify is very important to delegation. Ask questions to ensure that nothing is missing. Then, the last step, tell the person they did a good job. See if you get a smile.
To delegate further, review your to-do list with people that work for you. Ask them if there is something they wish to learn. However, understand they may not complete something else on their list.
What is most important in good delegation?
- Excellent and thorough instructions (This may depend upon the person you are delegating to)
- Develop a method for reviewing the project before completion. Select mid-points to review your instructions.
- A thorough review of the complete project
- Have a step by step list of corrections for the person working on the project. Do so in a constructive manner.
- Give the person you delegated to a pat on the back or encouraging words.
What if the project is a disaster? Yes, this happens. There may be several reasons. The person may not have and may never have the skill set for the job. They may not like the type of work. I work with Predictive Index and use behavioral assessments to determine the kind of work people typically enjoy. They may not have the education or background for the work or may not be capable of learning the position. Whichever the situation, it is never acceptable to demean a person because they can’t do the job. That never gets the job done and doesn’t help the business.
Have a culture of delegation. When I worked with my senior team, I always had a category in our notes for growing their staff. When we discussed the people that reported to them, we determined how each person could grow with a new responsibility or a class. Part of our budget was for courses outside of the business. There are many suitable classes, and it is frequently beneficial for the company to support outside learning.
Understand the learning or hearing process. Everyone learns differently. Some learn by hearing, some by reading, and some by doing. I once had a consultant teach delegation to my staff, something I thought was vital for them to learn. The consultant instructed the delegators to ask the person they were delegating to “Tell me what you heard.” In other words, repeat back the instructions. This felt uncomfortable to me. I felt if I asked someone, “tell me what you heard,” I would be insulting them until I needed to use this tactic.
I had a person who reported to me who continually messed up projects. At first, I thought it was the way I gave him the assignment. I know I miss steps when delegating and am very aware of this deficiency of mine. I would be careful to be explicit in my instructions. This person was smart and could grasp the nature of the projects I was giving him, so I was confused when he regularly got my instructions wrong. I worked with this person long enough to know we had to work through the blockage. Finally, I started using the method the consultant suggested and, when giving this manager a project, I asked him to tell me what he heard.
He appreciated the opportunity to be sure he understood the project, and I enjoyed the fact that he would understand the instructions and got the project right. Eventually, we joked about it. It was almost like dyslexic hearing instead of dyslexic reading. He indicated that the teachers in school had identified it but done nothing about it for him. If you are having challenges with giving good instructions when you delegate, ask the person to repeat what they heard to prevent bad feelings and frustration from both you and the person to whom you are delegating.
Look for resources that will help you learn how to delegate.
Apply These 5 Principles For Better Delegation (mtdtraining.com)
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