Entrepreneurship is an energizing and rewarding venture, but it is also one that can easily take too much of your mental bandwidth if you try to do it all yourself. As a small business owner, learning to delegate authority is one of the most powerful lessons you can learn! After all, taking on too much is one of the most common mistakes small business owners make. Read on for a few tips on how to enlist help to achieve your business goals.
Tackle Unconscious Biases
One reason why many small business owners don’t delegate more of their tasks is the belief that nobody else can do the tasks as well as they can.
However, take on too many tasks because you think your staff members are too young or inexperienced to handle them. Your employees will never gain the experience necessary to succeed. Start by handing off smaller administrative tasks to your employees. As they impress you with their work ethic, give them more responsibility little by little.
Essentially, you must dismantle your belief that others may not be as capable as you. Trust that you hired capable individuals who can handle the responsibilities you give them.
Make Your Expectations Clear
Sometimes, small business owners would rather do a task themselves, not because of bias but because they don’t want to explain how they want the task done. However, the briefing process does not have to be complicated or overwhelming.
When you delegate a task, make sure the employee in question knows the following:
- The steps you want them to take
- The timeline they must work with
- The results you want
- The reason they’re performing the task in question
If your employee knows these four things, they will be prepared to carry out the task you delegate to them effectively.
Choose Employees Based on Strengths
When you’re faced with a task you can delegate, think carefully about whom you’d like to assign it to. Don’t just hand it off to the first person you see. All your employees are skilled in different ways, so choose the employee with the best skills to match the task requirements.
For example, if you want to grow your business using social media marketing, delegate those accounts to an employee who’s internet savvy. Alternatively, if you need a second pair of eyes on your bookkeeping records, enlist an employee who’s good with numbers.
Take unnecessary stress out of small business ownership by learning how to delegate authority with everyday tasks. Your employees are talented individuals there to help you and your business succeed—empower them to take on more responsibility!