Ann Gibbard discusses the importance for business owners on delegating for growth
In the early stages of business an owner may work on their own, or only have 1-2 staff. The business owner wears most hats in the business, from marketing and sales through to operations and finance.
In order for a business to grow, the business owner must delegate work to others in the business, otherwise the size of the business is constrained by the number of hours the business owner works (allowing time to spend with family).
There can be many reasons why a business owner finds it difficult to delegate, for example:
- It is faster if I do it myself
- If I want it done properly, I need to do it myself
- It is cheaper if I do it myself
Delegation done properly does take time and an investment in the person you are delegating to. But the rewards for that investment are great.
Think of a job that takes 3 hours a week. The time to explain the job to someone else, answer their questions, and follow up to make sure the job was done properly may take an additional 3 hours in the first week, and 1 hour in the second week. For a 4 hour investment, you will save 12 hours a month, and 140 hours a year. Think about what would you be able to achieve with an additional 140 hours!
The person you are delegating to also benefits. They get to learn a new task, perhaps something they haven’t done before that extends their knowledge and training, and allows them to be more invested in the business.
To get the benefits, delegation has to be done properly – it is delegation not abdication. If the task is handed over without the support, mistakes will be made and you are most likely to take the task back again out of frustration. Take the time to explain the task, allow person to write instructions and ask questions. Follow up on the work done the first 2-3 times the task is done by the person, giving the opportunity for clarification and lessons to be learned. Check in periodically to ensure that your high standard is still being maintained without micro managing.
Another example of delegation is outsourcing. For example, you could try and build your own website thinking it will be cheaper. Consider though how many hours of productive time that will take you to do – and at what cost (using an average billable rate, or lost sales)? In addition, your new website might not be very effective, losing you sales. Outsourcing to a website expert will cost you less in the long run, both in time to complete, but also in the quality of the work. This one is best left to the experts.
In order to have a growth mindset, a business owner must learn to delegate effectivity. You are not giving up control, just the time taken to do the task that is being delegated.
Ann Gibbard is a Business Success Partner with Oxygen8 Consulting. For help with growing your business or improving its profitability, preparing your business for sale, or for a free Business Diagnostic, contact Ann at ann@oxygen8.co.nz or 021 682 014.