When you've started your own business, it's safe to say you can be quite protective of it. It's your baby, which can make delegating tasks to others and even hiring staff feel overwhelming and almost impossible sometimes. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to delegate tasks and roles to individuals as your business expands and reaches new levels of success.
Below we will briefly discuss why that is so important and a few ways you can conquer your fear of delegating and help your business and you thrive!
Why Delegating is Crucial
The stress of owning a business combined with the pandemic has made the dream of working for yourself a nightmare for many who take on too much and have difficulty asking for help. Entrepreneurial burnout is real and can compound from an emotional and mental toll to one that manifests physically. The American Psychological Association (APA) and related studies have linked burnout to an increased likelihood of:
- Sleep disorders
- Male infertility
- Type II diabetes
- Stroke
- Sudden cardiac death
- Ischemic heart disease
- Myocardial infarction.
If this is a wake-up call to the consequences of the stress you may be feeling, don't worry. Let's go through some simple tips to learn to delegate and lessen your chance of developing burnout or reverse it if you are already experiencing its effects. Step one is deciding that things have to change for you and your business in order to succeed without damaging your health.
Create standard operating procedures for tasks
A great way to make sure you feel comfortable with the tasks you delegate being done correctly and efficiently is to create written procedures on how they are to be done. This may take a little time to develop initially, but it means you save time in the long run by limiting follow-up questions and tasks needing to be redone. It also allows for the training of other individuals as your team grows.
These can be printed and kept in binders, saved as PDFs, and even become part of internal training and welcome packets.
Time block for delegation of tasks
When tasks are handed to someone at the last minute or while in a hurry, it can be stressful for you and the person who feels rushed. Time blocking for tasks can be a perfect way to set responsibilities calmly and rationally and allow for any questions or concerns. You can do this on your own during a specified time during your workday or week, during in-person staff meetings or virtual team meetings.
When you take the time to block the delegation of tasks, you are more likely to catch things that might otherwise have been missed.
Trust your employees to complete tasks
This sounds easy, but it is easier said than done. If you are building a solid team of people to help you support your business, then you have to trust the tasks you have assigned will get done. When you block appropriately, assign individuals with the proper skill set and experience, and give them the operating procedures we mentioned above, you then have to let them free to take things off your plate.
Handing the reins over can be challenging. We get it. But remember, a healthy and thriving business depends on you feeling your best mentally and physically. According to an article by Yahoo! Finance, many business owners believe they can grow at least 20 percent by delegating just 10 percent of their workload to others. Sounds worth it, right?