The art of delegation

Successful delegation involves turning the right tasks over to the right people for the right reasons.

It requires you to provide enough information, authority, and resources to get the job done the way it needs to be done.

Delegation goes beyond just handing over the job. It includes setting performance expectations, following-up, and providing feedback.

Delegation allows you to devote your energy to more important tasks
Business owners often spend too much time on the action-oriented activities, such as dealing with sudden problems or issues, and not enough time working more strategically on process improvements and future planning. When you delegate some of your responsibilities you will be able to focus your energy on those tasks.

The ability to delegate enables your business to grow and advance
Review what tasks you are doing and how long you spend on them. When a task is scattered throughout the day, week or month, you may seriously underestimate how much time you spend on it. Remember, when you’re doing the work, you’re not managing the work. Instead, you’re attending to tasks that could well be handled by qualified, cost effective people.

Someone else may be better at doing certain tasks than you are
It’s no reflection on you - different people simply possess different skills and when you find the right person to do the job, everybody wins.

You are overworked, stressed out, or falling behind
Feeling burned-out or working excessive hours may be a sign that you’re holding on to more responsibilities or tasks than is reasonable.

You are a perfectionist
You know you that other people are competent, but you feel certain that you can do it even better.  It's not a competition between them and you, so maybe its time to put your trust in others.

It takes too much time to explain and follow up
Sometimes you feel that it’s just easier to do it yourself and get it right the first time.  All this does is create a scenario that is almost sure to fail sooner or later.

You enjoy doing certain tasks
You don’t want to give certain tasks away, but you wish you had enough time to do them all!  Make sure your time is spent in the best possible way.  Are you doing a task because you enjoy it or would you be more effective concentrating on how to grow your business or generate revenue?

A good relationship begins with mutual respect. If you want a project completed within 24-hours or decide to expand the scope of the project before it's completed, make sure you communicate your expectations clearly and be prepared to pay extra. Once you find a person who is the right fit with you and the way you like to work, you'll have more time to spend doing what you do best.