One of the harder chores that a business owner faces is delegation. While there may be immediate gratification when someone takes a task off your overwhelmingly full plate, the fact is that once you feel the relief, you may very well begin to question whether it has been done as well as you expected, as fast as you could do it, or even done right.
No one can do everything alone. We know that intellectually. But whether we can accept it personally is another step. Delegation is vital to the growth of a business. It is also important in developing the sills and abilities of your staff. It allows you to groom your staff for higher-level positions and to take increasing important roles in decision-making.
While delegation, the assignment of part of your work, is the reason you add staff, often we don’t fully understand that with delegation also must come authority and accountability. Three steps are generally needed for the delegation process to be successful.
First you must assign responsibility to someone. You must ask someone to do a job or perform a task.
Second, you must give that person the authority, the power, to accomplish the task or job. This may include the power to get specific information, order supplies, authorize expenditure and make some decisions.
Finally, you must create accountability, the obligation to accomplish the task. (Note that while you can create accountability – you cannot delegate it away. You remain accountable to your business. If your staff fails to complete the job – you are accountable.)
Communication, good communication, is the key to successful delegation. First you have to know what you want to accomplish and you need to clearly communicate the task or project. If there are any absolutes you also need to let you staff know what they are and how these absolutes must be accomplished. You need to think of the tools (including information) the person will need and let them know where they can access these tools. You should be very clear about the expected outcomes, deadlines and deliverables.
And then you need to get out of the way. And remember, it is always a learning process. If you cannot afford mistakes, you cannot avoid training. Set your staff up for success, not failure.
