For a handful of startup business owners, delegation comes easily and naturally. For the vast majority though, the idea of letting someone get their hands on any part of their new business baby is a terrifying one.
However, if you want your start up business to flourish and grow there quickly comes a time when you are just simply going to have to let someone else shoulder some of the burden. Here are some tips for delegating without driving yourself to despair:
Pick the Best People– This means giving work to people who actually deliver, not to those who are the least busy, or to those who are the cheapest. Check references and testimonials before you hire anyone, don’t just fall for some website hype.
Trust the People you Delegate to – And along with that trust you have to be willing to let the person you are delegating the task to bring a little of themselves to the table. The work still has to be done well of course but demanding that it’s “my way or the highway” is simply not on.
Give Clear Instructions – You are busy of course, but simply giving the person you are delegating to a two minute briefing and then expecting everything to work outthe way you want it to is simply unrealistic. The key is striking a balance between giving such minute instruction that you offend someone because they feel like you are treating them like an idiot and not explaining enough for them to get a grasp of what you really do expect from them.
Set up a Good Follow Up System – Establish specific deadlines at the beginning of each project but also get a system in place for reporting milestones along the way. This will save you having to send those “hey how are you doing?” emails every other day.
Give Credit Where Credit is Due – This is the really hard part for some start up business owners. An example? A woman who was running a fledgling, but promising virtual assistance business began delegating most of the tasks to others, but claimed all of the credit for herself. The end result? When the clients found out although they were happy with the work anyway they felt she was being dishonest and the woman also lost her best employees because they felt cheated and unappreciated.
Yes, it’s your business, but by giving credit to others when it is due you will inspire loyalty and provide real satisfaction for work done meaning that the chances are that these people will happily follow you and your business to the ends of the Earth if that’s what it takes to succeed and people like that are priceless.
