“Delegate?”
“It’s easier if I do it myself.”
“No one else can do it as well as I can.”
“I don’t have time to teach someone.”
Do any of these sound familiar to you? Every day, people add more tasks to their “to do” lists. Then they discover that the day (or week, month, or year) has passed and they haven’t accomplished everything.
The results?
- Feeling overwhelmed or out of control
- Accumulation of stress and anxiety.
- Procrastination due to too much to do
- Lack of advancement or promotion.
Delegating is one of the action options that we highlight in our time management training seminars because, in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it is a tool that is often overlooked.
There have been many articles in the news recently about the exorbitant salary of some CEOs. Why might some of these CEOs be earning ten to fifty times more than the average business employee? Do they spend ten to fifty times more hours at work than the average employee? Of course not. Everyone is using the same 24 hour day.
What are they doing that is different? For starters, if you were to look at their ‘to do’ lists, you wouldn’t see them involved in the minute details of their business operations. Your job is to look at the big picture, figure out how it can be done, and then delegate those steps. They have to rely on others who have been trained in specific areas of the operation.
Not everyone is in circumstances that allow them to pay for multiple attendees. However, there are still ways you can learn to let go of some things. Consider the resources you might have on hand:
1. Office assistant. – Many times they are only given the most mundane tasks, and the result is that they are not challenged. Give them the opportunity to grow in experience.
2. Spouse/children – Let everyone participate in household chores. It teaches responsibility and will produce more “together” time. Self-employed people can also hire their children to help with routine office work.
3. Outsourcing – If in-house staff is not available, explore hiring experts, such as bookkeepers and web designers, to help. For administrative assistance, find an area high school or community college for interns.
Just like top CEOs do, look at the big picture in your business and in your personal life. Train yourself to explore more options. What are your goals? What are the important tasks that will help you achieve those goals? When deciding if you can delegate a task or project, ask yourself:
Why am I doing this?
Is there anyone else able to help?
Is there someone I can train to do this?
Once you’ve identified the tasks and projects that could be reassigned, use these guidelines:
1. Be explicit about what you want done
2. Check that they have understood
3. Set an end date and get their agreement
4. Hand over the authority that goes with the responsibility
5. Identify the benefits for the person performing the task
6. Be available to handle questions, but don’t check too many times
When you take time to get organized, that time spent is recovered in a matter of days, and then you’re working ahead using effective time management techniques. Delegating is one aspect of organizing. It may take a little while to train someone to do an activity the way you want it done, but then you won’t be managing that job for weeks and months to come. It’s worth the small amount of time to train and delegate. Do not delay in taking the following steps.
© Denise Landers, Key Organizational Systems