Am I a great communicator? No
Am I great at explaining how to do things? No
Do I prefer to spend my time golfing, skiing, and spending time with my family and friends? Yes.
The only way I can do the things I truly love is to delegate tasks effectively
It took me 8 years and 2 kids to finally free myself from tasks I should have delegated years ago. My own ego and sense of control were holding me back from truly letting go of those tasks. Not only my own ego, but I truly thought I was the only one that could do each task.
"Let go to grow"
You could have told me 100 times that I should hire this person or that agency expert but I would have told you no when I first started my ecom store. It was only until I had personal life events did I feel the need or desire to delegate. Effective delegation is the only way to grow your business and build a business that you could easily sell. I like to say, let go to grow!
You still can maintain control and steer the direction of the company or project for delegated tasks. At my eCommerce brand, I currently just coordinate the different experts to a desired outcome or KPI for each silo. This allows me to act more like a coordinator than a doer of the delegated task. Plus, it frees me up to take on more meaningful and challenging assignments that can impact the business in a far bigger way.
How do you truly delegate effectively (trust your team members)
1- Mindset - you have to actually believe someone else is capable. Most people I hire are way smarter than me, but that isn't saying much.
I know this isn’t a specific hack or tactic but you truly must want to delegate the task. If you want to do it because you don’t feel anyone else can you will reverse delegate it. Where you barely explain how to do the task, then get upset when they can’t do the task and the final step is you will take that task back.
And usually, say “I knew they couldn’t handle it!” Trust your team member and give them the right task for their skillset. Do not give them something that isn't in their silo of expertise.
"Never say, I knew they couldn't handle it" - That just means you don't trust your team member and/or you didn't clearly explain the delegated work
2- Make an unedited loom video (this is the most powerful part of the delegation process)
I am a massive fan of Loom, if an old guy like myself could figure it out anyone can. My process for delegating tasks could not be simpler.
One take only! Do not make more than one loom video, that will only slow you down. By going through it with one take you will likely do it in a more similar way that a new person or expert would do it. Mistakes are great! I actually like when I make a so-called mistake because this is probably what the person who is doing the task will do as well. Make them, and explain the context of what you are doing and what you are thinking no matter what happens during the video.
Explain why for each step no matter how insanely simple it is for you! Remember, who you delegate to may be a total rookie to your professional and how you do it.
If you do this you don't really need any special delegation skills. The video is the key to freeing you from those tasks.
3 - Save and upload to Google drive or a Monday Board. (The project management tool doesn't have to be perfect to be effective)
Once you record your loom, make sure you upload it into a folder that is organized by the role. For example, if I recorded a video on how to make a Facebook ad. I would put that into “Marketing” or a video on how to build a purchase order that would be “Operations.”
Whatever is simplest and makes sense so you could easily find it. This is a great way to first start siloing team members and experts for those tasks.
Give the right people the right tasks and it's amazing how fun the work can become. Likewise, give the right people the wrong tasks and work feels like work
4 - Create timelines for each task (give team members a clear target)
By simply attaching an estimated time to completion for each task you will uncover sticking points and get a better sense of whether the person hired is the right person. If they aren’t doing it within the estimated time, they either are stuck and need further guidance or they just aren’t the right fit.
5 - Give them a KPI - a target to shoot for
It's hard to hit a target if you don’t have one! The more simple the KPI the higher the chance of success. For example, I give my Facebook ads agency a ROAs target. If they hit it great, if not I need to know why and we make a plan to hit It or adjust the budget accordingly.
It is so easy to get caught up in different software and methods of delegating, but the best way to actually delegate is to start. Once you have delegate responsibility away, you may want to delegate everything. It can be quite addicting and freeing to effectively delegate.
So...Stop reading and go delegate it!!!