Learning the Art of Delegation
It's been our experience that the CEOs of several rising companies become overwhelmed by having to wear too many hats in an effort to build momentum and achieve profitability. Strange as it may seem, the trick to great delegation can be found in a slinky demonstration.
One Christmas my daughters received slinky toys from Santa. Yep� you guessed it, the same Santa that was kissing Momma underneath the mistletoe. The first task of the morning was to attempt an uninterrupted run of the slinky down the full flight of stairs. I never knew a Slinky could be so difficult to operate!
Following more than a few wearisome attempts, I, at length, completed a full run to the very bottom of the stairs. My girls cheered and high 5�s were exchanged. Now came the really difficult task of helping my girls do it. The first few attempts were less than perfect and it seemed that I was the only individual in the house that could regularly send a Slinky perfectly to the base of the stairs. Just like any good dad would, I demonstrated my style until my girls were able to imitate my procedure.
The following are 5 "Slinky Steps" you should use when delegating essential tasks to other members of your business:
1. Experience � Start by understanding what knowledge is required to complete the task. Must you acquire the skill, or would it be better to hire someone to handle this task for you? Do you comprehend every aspect of a specific function in your company and the effect someone with significant experience can have on the bottom line? I hired a graphic design company to create some marketing kits for me and sales went up by several multipliers. On another occasion, our firm hired attorneys that specialized in specific areas of law and we saved thousands in potential liabilities.
If you are concerned about budget, don't forget that responsibilities can be divided into simple, part-time functions that can be hired out at an affordable rate. For instance, if your current business requires only 3 hours of bookkeeping per week, you can hire out that function for about $30 per week. The same tactic can be used for shipping procedures and any other repetitive task that consumes your time. Using your time trying to complete all the tasks will destroy your ability to create momentum to profitability.
2. Follow a Routine - All recurring tasks in your business ought to have a certain person that is accountable for its completion. If the assigned task requires a exceptional degree of expertise, have an expert work directly with the assigned employee until he or she can do it alone. Too frequently, we delegate a certain task and then become irritated when our staff isn't accomplishing the task correctly or efficiently. Record the process of accomplishing the task. The task itself, and the method of completing it, ought to become a routine�a system that's documented and duplicatable.
3. Repetition - Perfection is achieved by refining an existing routine. If you change something every time you finish a task then improving your efforts becomes next to impossible. Business systems breakdown and momentum is lost, when a task is consistently being reinvented and is never allowed to established a procedure.
4. Train the delegated tasks properly - Delegation means to properly train the assigned person to accomplish a regular task in your organization. Relegation is when you randomly assign someone to complete tasks without explaining an expectation, giving an example of the expectation, and punishing the person because of unmet expectations. Good training includes having an experienced person create or implement a repeatable system for the task and then finishing the task with the new person until the procedure is performed perfectly.
5. Measure performance � Gain is lost that is not measured. You can't expect progress if you're unwilling to track the progress. Goals ought to be recognized in writing and performance ought to be gauged on the tasks that lead to achieving the goal. Hold regular meetings with your employees to make goals and collect statistics. Management is a much simpler task when you are tracking the development of properly delegated tasks.
So go purchase a Slinky (No... they haven't paid me for a product placement!) and develop a procedure for getting it to go perfectly down an entire flight of stairs. Then attempt to train someone on your procedure and see if they can duplicate your results. Record each successful and unsuccessful run on a sheet of paper. Study your results and understand your new training routine! Happy Delegating!
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About the Author
Rod Alan Richardson has dedicated his life to teaching people to succeed in free enterprise through Business Training. Mr. Richardson believes he can change the world by directing people to a higher road and putting them on the path to Transcend Money.
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