To run a productive and efficient business, successful delegation is vital to the overall success of your business. Though sometimes we think we can do it all, it’s not sustainable to do every single task that a business requires on a daily basis. Burnout would be knocking on your door faster than you’d want it to that’s for sure. So today, I’m sharing practical tips on how to effectively delegate tasks so your company can achieve the highest returns. And along with that, also comes more of a work-life balance!
How to Effectively Delegate Tasks
Delegating tasks is an important part of being an entrepreneur and frees up time for you to focus on more important tasks in your business. You don’t want to spend the majority of your time doing tedious tasks that could easily be delegated to members of your team. Focusing on tasks that move the needle in your business is where your time should be spent to achieve long-term success.
As Notoire Media House has grown, I’ve been able to add team members to the company. I’ve delegated tasks to our team as they relate to each of their skill sets.
Another amazing thing that happens when you delegate work is that it boosts employees’ morale. It empowers them to take ownership of their work and increases their productivity. When you delegate tasks effectively, it builds trust and communication, and empowers your team. Because of that, it helps create a sense of belonging and loyalty among team members.
How to Know Which Tasks to Delegate
Every person has their strengths and talents. And with those strengths, each person also has areas that they may not be so good at. As entrepreneurs and business owners, we have to define our strengths and weaknesses. For those areas where we may need work, why not hire someone who is really good at that one thing you don’t enjoy doing? Because I guarantee there’s someone else who LOVES it and has an incredible skill set for that particular thing.
Maybe you’re super creative and love to put ideas into action. However, you’re not great at time management and organization. Project managers are exactly who you need to delegate work related to managing your time.
Choose the Right Person to Do the Job
Choosing the right person to do specific jobs is part of being an effective leader. You wouldn’t want to put someone in charge of a project they’ve never done before. Maybe instead they could shadow another team member to see the process firsthand. Then maybe next time they can do it on their own, and see how they do.
There are two different scenarios to find the right person to do a certain job within your business. Maybe you already have a team of three employees who do certain tasks based on their skill sets. But you start to realize that one of the employees is good at something you never knew they were good at.
For instance, a team member has a strong skill set in oral communication. They’re good at talking to people, making people feel at ease, putting out fires, etc. Once you recognize this, maybe that person can take on more of a customer service role for your team.
As you get to know your team, you’ll notice certain skill sets each team member has. You need to recognize those and learn how to delegate according to those skills.
Or maybe on the flip side, you don’t have anyone on your team that has experience with graphic design. However, you need to have someone with a graphic design background on your team. Therefore, you’d want to hire someone who has those particular set of skills.
Delegating effectively is all about playing off people’s strengths and interests.
Related: The Ultimate Virtual Assistant Services List
Define Desired Outcomes
Have you delegated a task only to get a desired outcome that was less than stellar? If so, was the desired outcome established before the team member started the project?
As we’re assigning tasks to our team, we must define what the desired outcome of the project should be. You can’t expect to give someone a task, and they know exactly what you’re expecting. For task delegation to be effective, we must specifically say what we expect the desired result to be.
For instance, if you delegated the task of creating a weekly email for your company to one of your team members, it’s important to define the why and what. Tell them WHY you’re creating this email. It is to simply round up what your company did in the last week. Is it a more informative email about the industry you’re in?
Tell them WHAT the email should do for the company. Do you want the email to create more leads? Is it simply content marketing for your business? For good work to be produced, you have to be specific about your desired outcome.
Provide the Right Instructions
To piggyback off defining desired outcomes, you have to give the right instructions too. Sharing the right instructions and defining the outcome should go hand in hand with every task you assign, so there’s no confusion or questions on HOW to complete the task.
If you’re assigning a team member to take the lead on planning an event, you must give them detailed instructions about your vision for it. Because more than likely what you think the event should look like and what your team member thinks it should be like are going to differ somewhere in the planning process. Things like providing a budget, a list of who should be invited, where it should be held, how to invite them, and a specific agenda for the night are some of the things you must define even before the planning process begins.
If not, your team members will be confused, and unsure and the event might not be as successful as you wanted it to be.
Provide Positive and Constructive Feedback
Providing BOTH positive and constructive feedback to team members is an important step when it comes to excellent delegation skills. Holding regular performance reviews is a great way to provide an opportunity for these conversations.
If a team member is doing something extra amazing and you love what they’re doing, tell them specifically what it is that you love. That way, they continue to do that and never question their process of doing something.
On the flip side, if you notice something about the work of a team member that’s maybe not exactly how you’d like it to be done, then you have to let them know. If you don’t, how are they supposed to know to not do that anymore? There’s an appropriate way to give constructive feedback.
For example, define why you’re asking them to do something a little different and specifically tell them how you would like it done instead. That way, they understand exactly how to do it the way you had envisioned. You can’t just say, “Don’t do it like that.” You should say, “Hey, instead of doing something like that, can we try doing it like this please?”
Positive and constructive feedback molds your desired outcomes to be the best they can be.
Offer Training and Resources as They Relate to the Job
Though some are naturally gifted at certain things like oral communication, graphic design, etc., offering training and resources to employees can only enhance their skill set. Professional development also increases an employee’s dedication to the job because it shows you care and wants the best for them.
There are a number of ways you can provide additional resources to your employees like taking a virtual seminar, providing a book as it relates to their skills, or sending them to an in-person seminar or class.
Have you tried task delegation? If so, how has it improved your overall business? Let me know in the comments below!
