September 2, 2019 | Mason Roberts
Being a good leader in business entails many things. There is detail after detail that can be contributing to your leadership skills. The lack of one can make you a poor leader, while the strength of another can make you unstoppable. There are many aspects to be considered when trying to become the best boss you can be. One very important one, though, is the capability to delegate. Delegation plays a key role in the progress of your business. As the boss, you will have what seems to be task after task. If this is the case, you must delegate, for the sake of you, as well as your business. Your wellbeing will be intact, so your motivation will be thriving. Your business will soar, and your employees will feel of value.
There are various ways that business owners go about delegating tasks to their employees. Some are more effective than others. If you feel that you are not able to do this or at least do it well, you are not a lost cause. Luckily, delegating is a skill that can be learned and perfected. There are business owners who do not have the drive to put the work into their business, but practice does make perfect. If you practice a trade, you will improve. Delegating is not unique in this rule of thumb.
Effective delegation is not hard to accomplish. Take advantage of these tips and your business will succeed.
1. Learn To Be Open To Change
If you are reading this article, chances are that you are the type of business owner who does everything themselves. When faced with an obstacle, you find a solution on your own. When having to complete a task, you do it yourself. You may be very comfortable with this. While it is not a bad thing to try and accomplish things on your own, it will begin to become impractical. In completing every task on your own, you are not only taking up much more time but will also wear yourself out. Once you accomplish your goal, you may have wasted days on something that could have taken mere hours with a bigger team. Once you reach the end of your a few-days-too-long journey, you will be exhausted, decreasing your productivity level for the rest of the week. It is just a fact. If you are run down, you cannot achieve something as well as you could have if you were determined and filled with energy.
Change is important in situations like this. If you are becoming tired from your business endeavors, be open to altering your ways. Look to your employees, or those you trust, to take up some of the workloads. If your employees are those you turn to, they will feel valued. They are also fresh and ready to take on the challenges thrown their way. You will feel much more rested and will complete your remaining duties strongly. Change can be great for your business, your employees, and you.
2. Consider Your Employees Strengths And Weaknesses
If you are a good business owner, or have a dependable hiring team behind you, you employees will vary. Their personalities should mesh well together, but they will have distinctly different strengths. If you have this in your establishment, take advantage of it. Do not let someone who can improve your business through their talents go unnoticed. For example, if you have an employee who is exceptionally strong at marketing, let them take the lead in it. This should also be especially true if you are not good at marketing whatsoever.
Delegating should be done strategically. You should consider everyone's personality traits when deciding who gets which task. Also, very often the thing that a person is extremely well at is something they enjoy doing. This is not true for all cases, but most. So, if you delegate a task to a marketing genius, they are likely to enjoy their workday more than if they were given the responsibility of something different. This will help them do the best work they can do, and enjoy each day at your business.
3. Guide Them In Their Duties
You may think that the duty you are going to give to others is self-explanatory, but you should still always include instructions or guide them. Again, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. What is one of your strengths, maybe where your employee is lacking. If you want to be a great business owner, you should not assume that your employees have all the tools they need to succeed. You should always be open to directing them. Also, because you are the owner, you may have a specific way you want something done. If it is done the right way, your first instinct may be to blame your employee. The question is, though, did you give them the guidance they needed to achieve the task correctly? Were you clear enough? Did you not give them any specific information? You cannot blame an employee for the lack of results if they did not have the tools they needed to succeed. If they do not know how to achieve the goal you set for them if they do not have the skills, teach them. Like stated earlier, practice makes perfect.
4. Check In With Your Employees
You should trust your employees to complete the duties given to them, yes. You should trust that they have the skills to complete the goals set. Choosing the right person is key. Once your employee finishes their task, check-in with them. Review their work, and determine if it is up to par. Just as you have likely had bad days in your career, your employees will too. Their week may be off, affecting their work performance. While this cannot get excused forever, it will play a factor every now and then, even to your strongest employees. So, it is always important to verify with your employees that they are accomplishing their goals effectively.
