The Art of Delegation
How to delegate effectively and grow your team as an entrepreneur
I studied a BSC (Hons) in Business Computing in the UK many years ago. Going to university taught me many things, it helped my critical thinking, how to manage a budget (first time living away from home) and honed my social skills.
One thing I didn’t learn at university, however, was one of the most important aspects of being an entrepreneur – the art of delegation.
No one is skilled at every facet of a business; we all need help from different types of people in order to achieve any sort of scale. Here are my top five tips for effective delegation, that can help you scale a business:
Before you can begin to delegate you need to have a good understanding of your own skillset and what holes you need to fill with other people. What I did to achieve this was presented to my mastermind group of other entrepreneurs (my EO forum) about what I love doing in the business and what I tried to avoid doing. It’s important to remember though, that some jobs have to be done by the CEO / founder, even if you would rather not (like public speaking for me).
The way in which you delegate things has a big impact on the outcomes and effectiveness of what you have delegated. Personally, I feel that it is important to both empower and trust people – otherwise why are you delegating to them! It is also important to understand that they may make mistakes and that’s okay. Once people are truly empowered and trusted, that when the magic starts to happen.
It is important to recognise and acknowledge people for their achievements. Genuinely valuing and recognising what people have done (especially publicly) helps to build their confidence and show that you have noticed.
An important area that I personally need to improve is communication. However, effective and clear communication is critical with delegation. What outcomes are you expecting within what timeframe? Are there a budget / resource allocations etc…
Lead by example. If you are expecting to delegate to others and have them put in their best efforts, it is up to you to do the same yourself. Be accountable and responsible for your own areas in the business and people will see and likely follow.
Delegation is a critical component of building a successful company. I actively mentor and invest in a number of startups and high-tech businesses. Invariable the ones that do best are the ones where the CEO is good at delegation. The ones that fail to grow are the ones where the CEO micromanages or believes that they can do everything better than everyone else.
