If there was one sure-fire way to give you more time, help your company become more efficient and finally achieve that work-life balance you’ve been dreaming of… would you want to know what it was?

I thought so!

Delegation is the key to all of that. Or rather, effective delegation is.

In simple terms, delegation is taking tasks off your plate and putting them onto someone else’s. Effective delegation is when you assign out those tasks in a way that frees you up to focus on what you’re best at. So that you can get more done, in a more enjoyable way.

When I started my own business, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted my work to feel. Not just for me but for my clients too. Something that became apparent quite quickly was that I wanted to be able to focus my expertise on where I can deliver the best results – through coaching itself. And I’m proud to say that I’ve built up a small but mighty team to enable me to do this. The result? My work’s a lot more fun and a lot more impactful too!

Here’s how to delegate effectively so that you can empower both your team and your organisation.

Delegating Effectively: What to delegate

Starting to delegate can be an intimidating process. There are a million and one different things you can delegate, from accounting to administration, marketing, design work and so much more.

Where should you start?

That answer is going to be different for everyone and will depend on your interests, skillsets and how much time you have available.

You’re going to want to choose what you delegate wisely, so that you’re keeping the tasks where you’re going to have the most impact whilst delegating the tasks which require different skillsets. This is where it can be useful to go through a strengths assessment so that you can determine where it’s best to focus your efforts. Could someone else get the same (or better) result as you but in half the time? If so, that’s probably a good sign that it’ll be an effective delegation.

Delegating Effectively: Who to delegate to

Now that you know how you’re going to choose what to delegate, you’re going to need to decide who you’re going to delegate those tasks to. You’re going to need to choose the employees that’ll be best for the job.

Whilst experience is the most obvious criteria to look for (have they got similar experience and the right skillset?), there are other considerations to take into account. Although hard skills are a must, so are softer skills such as employee attitude, efficiency and project management.

An enthusiastic employee who’s missing one or two learnable skills will likely get you far more effective results than someone who’s unmotivated but ticking all the technical boxes.

These checks will help you choose the right person for the job:

1. Are they experienced in this type of work?
2. Do they have the technical skills required?
3. Are they enthusiastic and passionate about the project?
4. Do they have processes in place to minimise the amount of input required from you as a manager?
5. Will they be effective with minimal levels of supervision?

If you answered yes to the majority of those questions, then you’ve found the right employee for effective delegation!

Delegating Effectively: How to delegate

When you’re delegating tasks to someone within your organisation, it’s important to manage the process carefully to ensure that everyone involved has the capacity available to take things on.

Be incredibly clear about what it is that you’re delegating, the timelines involved and the expectations of the employee in question. Whenever someone is assigned additional tasks there’s bound to be a little worry in terms of their capacity, so be sure to ask if there’s anything they need to delegate to someone else to take on this additional responsibility.

It’s important to emphasise that you’re not wanting to put any extra pressure onto this employee and that you’re going to be checking in on a regular basis not just to monitor their performance but to monitor their wellbeing too. Take the time to discuss how a feedback loop might work between the two of you, so that you’re always aware of the project progress without too much time input from your end. After all, the aim is to free up your time not to take away more of it!

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All in all, effective delegation is an incredibly important part of growing a successful business. It can offer the opportunity to trial employees’ skillsets before promotions, give you the freedom to focus on your own expertise and expand your business in a sustainable way.

Ready to create a life of fulfilment?

Start 2021 feeling empowered, confident and ready to go with a strong mindset and a smart plan. That’s exactly what you’ll get with Empower You, a tried and tested group coaching programme designed to help you feel the success without any of the stress.

But hurry! Early-bird sales close in just a few hours. Which means that you need to act fast if you want to get a free private session with me!