I have a confession to make: I struggle with delegation. My mind is often in overdrive, and stopping to ask for help is not one of my strong points. A couple of months ago, I came to a breaking point. I was printing out materials for a leadership program, and the ink in my printer ran out. I didn’t have another cartridge, and I had to run to Staples in the middle of the day to buy more ink. In that moment, I thought of the all the important things I needed to be doing, and it was not buying ink.
My business has been growing, and I was wearing many hats as a business owner: coach, consultant, accountant, marketer, and administrative assistant. I was becoming so bogged down in the details, that I wasn’t able to focus as much on the strategic side of my business. I realized I could not reach the next level in my business if I didn’t learn to work smarter and focus on the most important areas. I decided to hire an assistant, and I’m already seeing an increase in my productivity and a decrease in my stress level. I see her as the backbone of my business; she takes care of very important things behind the scenes so that I can focus on what I do best.
Most of us know we should delegate more. We may be very busy every day, but most people aren’t very productive. And on some level, we become addicted to the busy feeling because it makes us feel we are getting something done; even if it’s not the best use of our time.
Here are two strategies that helped me “train” myself to delegate more:
Envision leading at a higher level. Take just 15-30 minutes to think about what your leadership would look like if you were operating at the optimum level in your position. For me, I envisioned a clean, organized office, systems in place to run my business (like an accounting system), having more space in my calendar for creative time, being proactive in marketing my programs, an updated and refreshed website, developing new programs, and consistently sending resources to my clients. I realized many of these things I don’t have to do myself (accounting system), and having someone else do them would allow me the time and mental energy to focus on the other areas (developing new programs, sending resources to clients). This motivated me to want to delegate.
Keep a log. Throughout your day, keep a running list of things you are doing that are not the best use of your time. At the end of the day, determine which of these tasks can be delegated to someone else and write that person’s name next to the task. After one week of logging, set up a meeting with your team or the individual to teach them how to handle the tasks (and in many cases, no teaching is involved; it’s more about letting go). Here is a partial list of my items: filing, invoicing, bookkeeping, registering for conferences/events, contacting a vendor for information, ordering supplies, and updating my website.
A trait of highly successful leaders is the ability to focus on key areas and delegate lower level tasks. It is a core leadership skill, and often determines if a leader will move toward success or derailment. Just remember: you can have it all, but you can’t do it all.
