Many entrepreneurs and thought leaders view innovation as the ultimate marker of success in the business world. However, for many business owners trying to scale and remain competitive in an increasingly volatile marketplace, the growth path can present many unexpected obstacles and challenges.
One such challenge that business owners regularly encounter is the art of delegation. Leaders in the digital and tech spaces often pride themselves on their ability to wear multiple ‘hats’ and oversee numerous responsibilities as their companies take on more business, expand into new markets, recruit more staff, offer more services, streamline processes, and so on.
Leaders and managers may find comfort and reassurance by being able to handle multiple duties within their businesses but, as your business expands, this approach can quickly have the opposite effect, acting as a detriment rather than a boost to your progress.
Running a business is challenging and requires a huge range of skills, abilities, resources, and time to be successful. Delegating tasks when the time is right can be highly beneficial but before we get into how and when that can happen, it’s important to understand why many leaders find it difficult to entrust important business duties to others.
As businesses grow and recruit more talent, this naturally presents a good opportunity to delegate. However, other proactive solutions include relying on contractors for temporary, short-term tasks or entrusting virtual assistants to handle routine, necessary administration which can eat away at many hours. These crucial tasks don’t ever go away, but for businesses desperate to grow and scale, they can’t solely be the remit of the head honcho.
In industries that demand perfectionism and flawlessness, it’s natural to believe that somebody else can’t measure up to your skills and standards. If you’ve spent time cultivating relationships with clients where they’ve come to expect a certain standard, it is no wonder why handing that project over to somebody else can be met with hesitancy. It can feel like relinquishing control over tasks and projects that you could have spent significant time perfecting, but it may be necessary if they’re eating away at your time week in, week out.
Building teams, workflows, and processes that you can rely on takes time, and in the interim, it’s tempting to shoulder the burden yourself. When deadlines loom and when there are skills gaps present in the company, it often seems quicker and more appropriate to handle tasks and processes yourself rather than spend time and money training and upskilling. However, this will leave you stretched for time conducting vital, strategic tasks to help your business grow.
As your company grows, you will begin to spot telltale signs that delegating tasks may be more necessary than you initially thought.
If you find yourself constantly reacting to situations and problems rather than proactively planning for the future, it could indicate that you’re spreading yourself too thin. If you are struggling to remember when you last had a moment to reflect on and consider your company’s long-term strategic vision, then that’s a sign that you may be spending too much time working for your business, rather than working on your business.
If you have talented staff who aren’t being challenged or pushed, then their potentially valuable contributions are not being maximised. There could be no better time to equip and upskill certain members of your team in new avenues and with new responsibilities, while you, as the leader, can dedicate more time to your business strategy and direction.
What’s most telling of all is the effects that being overworked and burned out can have on your service quality, professional demeanour, and work-life balance. When you’re juggling too many tasks, working well beyond your business hours, and sacrificing valuable rest and family time for important tasks to meet deadlines, it’s abundantly clear that you need to reassess your workload and something needs to give. 36% of the UK’s senior business leaders are considering a role change, coupled with 54% feeling overworked and burnt out, according to a recent LHH report.
Delegating tasks can transform your business, and give you the flexibility and freedom you need to take your operations to the next level. By delegating routine tasks to your team, you free up time to concentrate on areas where you add the most value, whether that’s client relationships, strategic planning, fostering partnerships, generating leads, and so on.
Doing so doesn’t just offload work from your plate, but it also empowers your team, pushing them to progress in their own careers and explore their strengths. Begin by delegating smaller tasks one bit at a time to team members based on their skills and interests, allowing you to build trust in your team’s capabilities.
When delegating a task, provided you are explicit about your expectations, instructions, deadlines, and autonomy that the person has, they can often fulfil and exceed those with the help of innovative and fresh perspectives.
Provide regular check-ins to monitor the progress of your team without micromanaging them. For some team members, new tasks may require them to ask questions and seek guidance, which will be valuable to them. Allow room for learning and growth, remembering that your team may not do things exactly as you would, which isn’t a problem. Equip them with the tools, support, and resources they need to succeed in their new responsibilities and use their results as a teaching opportunity rather than a reason to reclaim said task.
With more time to think long-term about your business’s future and with a system in place that allows team members to work autonomously on vital tasks, all the vital cogs in your machine will be working smoothly. Remember that effective delegation takes time, but the investment is sure to pay off in the long run, and you will be grateful for having done so.
With the digital and tech sectors rapidly changing with each passing day, businesses in these spaces need to be equal parts innovative, scalable, and competitive. Effective delegation isn’t just a skill – it represents a crucial shift in your strategy and operations that will pay off handsomely in the long run.
Mastering the art of delegation will set your company up for sustainable growth in the years to come. That transition from being solely in charge of everything to cultivating an aligned team with multiple responsibilities is hard to navigate, and there will likely be bumps in the road. However, you’ll end up with a resilient organisation that isn’t explicitly reliant on any one individual.
With you at the helm focusing on the big picture while your team comfortably handles duties to the expected standard, you are creating a more attractive proposition to new clients, partners, and investors.
It’s no secret that delegating tasks becomes more crucial as your business undergoes periods of growth and upscaling. It’s a skill that requires practice, trust, and an occasional leap of faith. However, the rewards – a more empowered team, a more strategic role for yourself, and a business primed for opportunity – are well worth the effort.
One of the key takeaways here is to remember that delegating tasks isn’t about offloading work that you don’t want to do. It’s distributing responsibilities in the right places to maximise your team’s potential and your company’s growth.