Main Idea
Are you a control freak? Are you the only one who can do something right? When you think about someone working for you doing something critical, do you get visibly sick? Is there anyone in your organization that has a clue about what you are trying to accomplish?
Expansion of Idea
Most of us are so busy trying to survive that we just try to get our work done as fast as possible so that we can move on to the next project. The thought of having someone else in your organization doing something critical is a hopeful wish and is just not practical. Yet we are so overwhelmed that we end up working too much and we make more errors by ourselves. Sometimes those are errors of omission, but there is opportunity cost. We don’t follow up on a lead or we don’t fix a nagging problem or we don’t do the planning that we should be doing. The solution is to create a team that works well together.
Once I realized that I don’t have to do everything and that it is okay for my team to make errors, it was incredibly freeing. No, I don’t want errors going out of the office on tax returns. So, I need to improve my systems and training. But after I delegated skill appropriate tasks, the error rates actually dropped because I focused on training and systems. And we have had a marked improvement in service. We still aren’t exactly where I want to be, but we are headed in the right direction. And I have time to help us get there because I am not doing everything. I can take the time that I save on one thing and invest it in another area. But the most important benefit is that I have empowered and trained and elevated my team. They are having more fun and understand the purpose of what they are doing. Whenever you can invest in your team, you improve your odds of succeeding. This is the purpose of a leader – to take your team to the next level.
Just so that you know I am serious about this, go back and read the weekly business idea from last week. You may have assumed that I wrote it. I had input but I did not write it. I asked Heather in my office if she wanted to write it. She thought about it for a few seconds and then said she would try it. I probably would have used different examples and different words. But she did a great job and the main idea was communicated. And that is what is important.
Areas to Start
List 5 things that you could delegate
Review the list and determine who you could delegate them to.
If training is needed, determine the training schedule and set a deadline for the training.
Go for it!!!