“I’m going to finish my marketing plan by Friday.”
“The website redesign needs to go live by Sunday at midnight.”
“I’ve got to talk to my copywriter about the newsletter and to my assistant about my email automation this week.”
“I’m going to complete ten sessions with clients by the day after tomorrow, plus all their paperwork.”
What’s wrong with this picture? There’s too much to do for just one person. And believe it or not, you really are NOT the only person who can do all your important jobs well.
The number one key to effective delegation is to remember that when you have a team you trust, you can benefit from letting your employees use their skills to their full potential. You can learn to delegate in just five easy steps:
- Define goals and expectations clearly. Check in to make sure the person doing the work understands what they need to accomplish, including deadlines. If the work is complex, provide detailed directions. What’s crystal clear to you might not be to someone else.
- Be flexible about process. When a certain process is critical, make sure your employee knows exactly what to do. When the process isn’t essential, let your employee flex her skills and creativity. She might come up with an ingenious new way to get the job done.
- Touch base periodically. You don’t want anyone to feel micromanaged, but make yourself available from time to time to check on progress and to offer any needed guidance.
- Convey accountability. Make sure people know that they are responsible for the task they are given. This works in two ways: first, people feel ownership over their work and take pride in it. Secondly, they will know that the buck stops with them. If they mess up, it matters. They won’t want to mess up!
- Show gratitude. The people who are stepping up for you deserve your thanks. Say it! It goes a long way toward building goodwill among your team so they feel confident about their performance and will want to work more with you in the future.
Are you ready to delegate? An online business manager can be your team leader, effortlessly weaving the different business threads together for you. If you want more time for large-scale planning and execution in your business while a trusted team performs important work on your behalf, I’m here to help. Contact SophieZo today!
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