There is a massive differencebetween management, entrepreneurship and leadership. Unfortunately, since thesewords are much more common these days, people often times confuse them witheach other. But none are mutuallyexclusive to the other. You can be a successful manager or a successful entrepreneurand be a bad or mediocre leader. Leadership is not defined by production orrevenue, but by your ability to develop people and drive a business forward inthe long term. One of the greatest struggles of any entrepreneur transitioninginto leadership, especially as their business grows, is the process ofdelegation.
The inability to delegate is one ofthe most common things holding back young leaders, executives and businessowners from scaling their influence and reaching their goals.
As a small business owner myself,this was one of my toughest hurdles early on. Also, as a consultant andleadership coach, it’s something I teach on regularly. My hopes are that thiswill be your one-stop-shop for learning the process of delegation in apractical, step by step way.
Step 1: Recruiting
You can be a master of delegation,but if you’ve got the wrong people on your team, you won’t get anywhere. Thefirst step to proper delegation starts long before you actually begin todelegate. It starts during your hiring process.
This can be difficult, especiallyfor small business owners who need people right away, but you will learn overtime: it costs 3 times as much to hire the wrong person than it does to waitfor the right person.
Whether it’s your dishwasher, frontdesk clerk, janitor or highly paid marketing executive, I think everyone needsat least 2 to 3 interviews before being hired. If you’ve done the work toidentify your companies’ mission, values, and culture, you need to make sure tofind someone that fits. Not only should they fit, but they have to be eligiblefor the specific position you are hiring for.
Recruiting for a position withinyour company is much like dating, and you wouldn’t get into a committed, longterm relationship after just one date (at least I hope!). This person willhopefully be with you a long time, and is a financial investment, so Irecommend that he or she meets with other leaders within your company prior tobeing hired as well.
Lastly, prior to hiring them, makesure the preexisting salary or wages for the role fit the prospects needs. Ihighly recommend not hiring anyone who isn’t comfortable with their pay,because this is often times a means to an end. They will take the first jobthat pays what their goal salary is and will use your position as a filler.
If you find they fit the mission,values and culture - if their resume, education and experience align with theposition - and if the pay is what they are looking for, then bring them on theteam!
Step 2: Personal Audit
Once you’ve built your ideal team(even if it’s one other person), it’s time to do a personal audit. Self-reflectionand self-awareness are not only vital to maturity and emotional intelligence,but they are crucial to your development as a leader. I recommend doing one, ifnot all, of these three things:
Step 3: Create yourto-don’t list
Whether it’s daily, weekly, monthlyor all three – you should begin to recognize the things that are taking up yourtime that aren’t necessarily a high priority. Maybe at one point they were, butas you or your company have grown, you’ve taken on higher levelresponsibilities and these need to go. Once you know what these things are,write them down on your “to-don’t” list, and let’s move onto Step 4.
Step 4: Eliminate,Automate and Delegate
You’ll want to address yourto-don’t list in this order, so whatever can’t be automated or eliminated iswhat gets delegated.
What can I eliminate?
Youmay have to have a quick conversation with your boss, coworker or spouse beforeyou ultimately quit, but these are the things that if they didn’t ever get doneagain, would anything negatively change? If the answer is no, then you can juststop. This act can add a few minutes back to your day, which can add up overtime.
What can I automate?
Thereare plenty of apps, virtual assistants or services out there that automateplenty of roles for very cheap, if not free. In the most practical way for meto explain this, ask yourself, “what am I doing that an affordable robot canprobably do?”. Once you identify a few things, simply Google, “how to automate________”.
What can I delegate?
Everythingleft on your list needs to be delegated at this point.
Step 5: Document yourprocesses
We call this “SOP’s” in thebusiness world, or Standard Operating Procedures - which is just a fancytechnical phrase for how you do what you do as well and as consistent as you doit.
In my opinion, this is one of themost boring, but most necessary parts of delegation. You can be an incredibleteacher physically and verbally, but if your people don’t have anydocumentation to reference later on, then your processes and procedures willquickly get diluted.
Consistency is key, so take thetime to get alone with a large cup of coffee and no distractions and documentthe step by step processes behind whatever roles or responsibilities you wantto delegate. Then make sure to save this documentation somewhere that it isquickly and easily accessible.
Step 6: Identify the mostcompetent person on your team as it relates to this role (and give them thedocumentation)
Even in businesses or teams withjust a few people, there is often a hierarchy. Whether that’s based off oftitles, talent or time with the company, you often times know who your bestpeople are from top to bottom.
Depending on whatever the role orresponsibility is that you are delegating, choose the most highly competentperson in that area to take it. John Maxwell says if you think someone can dosomething 80% as well as you or better, then give it to them. Craig Groeschellikes the 60% rule. Since I’m a fan of happy mediums, my rule of thumb is 70%. Onceyou’ve decided, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are in. Of course, we wantto assume that our employees or teammates are in for whatever we decide to givethem, but that’s not always the case.
Once they’ve committed to taking onthis new responsibility - then step 6 is done
Step 7: Perform the workwith them (demonstration)
Now you’ve identified what you’regoing to delegate, you’ve documented how it’s done, and you’ve chosen yourperson. Now you just need to sit down with them, after they read through theSOP, and do it with them. Explain to them the minor details of how you do itthat may not have been thoroughly explained in your manual.
Step 8: Let them performthe work with you there (coaching)
Once you’ve gone through it withthem and they’ve watched you do it, then it’s time to let them do it while youwatch. Make sure to give them real-time feedback and let them know how they canimprove. Real-time feedback is crucial because if you don’t correct them rightaway, while you are sitting with them, then they will think they are performingat the highest level and will always do it that way. Let them master how you’vetaught it before they begin to put their own spin on whatever it is.
Step 9: Identify ifthey’ve reached your 70% + threshold, and if so, let them have it
This step speaks for itself. Ifthey’ve proven their performance to be at least 70% as well as yours is with signsof growth, then let them have it!
Step 10: Teach them steps1-9 so they can begin to develop leaders too
After you’ve helped develop theminto this new role, it’s easy to think that your work as a leader is done. Butleadership doesn’t stop there. Our job is to also develop other leaders, somake sure that he or she understands the 9 steps you took to teach them. Feelfree to give them this teaching!
After reading or listening throughthese steps, you might find yourself less encouraged to begin delegating fromall the perceived work it takes. You might feel more inclined to just keepdoing all of the work yourself. But keep in mind, leadership is an investment,and by learning to delegate, you are going to free up your time and energy in thelong run, and empower others to begin performing at a high level – which is theultimate purpose of leadership.
