The most important thing about delegating the right work to the right people in the right way is that it allows you to step back from the everyday activities that exhaust all your efforts, meaning you can focus on growing your business. But, the decision to put your faith in someone else can be a tough one to make. So, why should you delegate?
- Your time is precious, and successfully delegating will save hours that could be better spent elsewhere.
- By sharing tasks with your workforce, you can use the best people for each job, developing employees in the process.
- Delegating is an excellent motivator and shows you trust your people. Employees will feel engaged in their roles and more committed to wider company values and objectives.
Delegating tasks to your team is an essential aspect of both driving a business forward and employee engagement and development. While it may be easier to complete the task yourself in the short term, delegating to employees will provide the challenges and opportunities your staff need to learn new skills and expand existing ones.
Employees who aren’t challenged, motivated or engaged won’t stick around for long. By delegating, you can instil a high level of focus at all levels and give employees the chance to advance their careers. Remember, nothing is more destructive than micromanaging. Draw on your employees’ strengths and build a team that will support you and business growth in the long run.
Tips from the experts
“Learn to delegate very early on” – Richard Branson
Filling the skills gap you have is another reason why the most experienced entrepreneurs delegate.
In an article on the Virgin website, Branson says: “When my friends and I started up Virgin, I knew that I was lacking vital knowledge on some subjects, and so I started learning this skill very early on in my career”.
The Virgin Founder makes no secret of the fact that the key to his success is his people. Learning how to delegate and trust from an early stage ensures your time and energy can be spent keeping the business where it should be and resolving all the unexpected issues that will no doubt arise.
“You have to be open-minded” – Bill Gates
Most people have their own way of doing things and this extends to entrepreneurs and small-business owners.
In Time’s ‘Bill Gates’s Best Career Advice’ Gates said: “Somebody could do it differently and still do it well. You can’t have this bias that they need to do things the same way.”
Micromanagement is a huge no-no when delegating. Once the team member you’ve delegated to is trained and briefed, you need to back away and trust they can succeed – even if they do approach and complete the task differently.
Understanding the importance of delegating is integral to taking your business to the next level.
Building your team requires some initial investment, but delegating will ultimately save you money by allowing you to step back from the day-to-day and focus on driving your business’s growth.
