A lot of successful small business owners think they’re good at delegating work to others. However, their employees, sub-contractors, partners, customers and family would disagree with this thinking. In actuality, most owners aren’t good at delegating responsibility and tasks to others.
The average owner’s way of delegating is some combination of: writing a memo or email, yelling, begging, assuming employees “will figure it out,” threatening, bribing and making promises he won’t keep. And it’s true — these techniques do work in the short term, but they eventually fail in the long term.
There’s a better way of assigning responsibility to others, and it’s a method which can be learned. However, the steps must be practiced to become skilled at them. But, once they’re mastered they can be used in work, home and social situations.
The first step is to define the task. This includes identifying what materials, time, money and people are needed. The owner sets realistic, measurable targets and decides when progress reports will be due. The desired goal of the project should be defined. Employees aren’t mind readers — they should clearly know what’s needed, when it ought to happen and what the expected outcome is.
Assigning the task to the right employee is the second step. Now that the task has been defined, matching the right person to the job is important to it being successfully completed. The right person should have the training, knowledge and ability to do it correctly. Anything else is a set up for the employee and the owner.
The final step is discussing the task with the assigned employee. Let the person know why they’ve been chosen for the project; focusing on their value to the company and qualifications. Go over the job’s requirements, budgets, timelines and goals with them. Make sure they completely understand what the task requires and what’s expected of them.
Most owners haven’t learned these steps and struggle with believing they need to do them. Some say, “I should just be able to tell someone to do something and they should do it. I shouldn’t have to do anything else.” While others say, “If I want something done right I have to do it myself.” Neither way of thinking is productive, especially for long term success.
No matter how intelligent or energetic an owner is his reluctance to learn how to successfully delegate will eventually take its toll. There’s a tipping point where a too controlling or a too detached management style deters expansion. Also, over time, these styles affect the bottom line; profitable companies lose ground. It’s too bad, because once learned it isn’t hard to do.
