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| photo credit: woodleywonderworks via photopin cc |
Entrepreneurs love to be in control, which is what
makes the draw of entrepreneurship so enticing. Left unchecked however, this
insatiable need for control can destroy a young business. Success requires an
ability to scale, and scale requires delegating and relinquishing control to
others. Those who insist on controlling everything are better off as dictators than business owners.
The inner control freak of many entrepreneurs prevents
them from fully embracing the importance of delegating. This leads to a sort of
"pseudo" form of delegating where they assemble a team but then micromanages
them to death.
Competent, confident professionals abhor being
micromanaged. They will either confront you about your poor management style or
leave. The weaker, less confident workers will soldier on in quiet desperation
while dreading the very thought of working with you. This is no way to grow a
business.
If you are serious about growing a sustainable
business, following are practical steps for mastering the art of delegating.
1. Choose the Best-Qualified Person
How do you know you have the best person for
the job? He or she understands the details of the task better than you. For
example, you may understand the inner workings of your finances, but the person
you select to manage your books should know the business of bookkeeping better
than you. Keep looking if this is not the case.
2. Provide the Right Tools and Resources
Professionals understand the tools of their trade, so do not tell them what they need. Ask! If
you already invested in systems and tools, find someone skilled in
those areas. You should not be spending your days teaching your assistant
Microsoft Excel.
3. Document Your Expectations
Documentation beats conversation folks. To
avoid future "but I thought you
said" episodes, write down what you expect of them and make sure there
is mutual understanding between the both of you.
4. Establish Metrics
You cannot manage what you cannot measure.
Therefore, put in place a system for you and your team to track progress both
short and long term.
5. Request Regular Status Updates
In the simplest form, an update can be a weekly
email but can also include project plan notes, conference calls or virtual
meetings.
6. Get out of the way!
Once the right people have the needed resources
and a clear course of action, just get out of the way and let them to do their
jobs. Your responsibility is to monitor and support, not tell them how to do their work. If you spend your
days explaining how, either go back
to step number 1 or check your inner control freak.
What About Meeting Face to Face?
In today's world of virtual meeting places and
social media, the necessity for in person meetings has diminished.
Collaborative teams who have never met in person have sprung up all over the
Internet.
Take SteamFeed.com for example, a collection of
entrepreneurs, social media mavericks and marketers assembled by founders
Daniel Hebert and DJ Thistle. Most of us have only met online, but we strategize
and communicate via virtual meetings, email and social media. Nothing is lost
by not having ever met. In fact, leveraging technology helps us balance our
commitment to SteamFeed along with our myriad of other responsibilities.
If meeting face-to-face is still necessary,
respect everyone's time by distributing an agenda and adhering to
pre-determined start and end times. Conclude with a set of action items and
detailed minutes recorded and distributed to the attendees.
Learning to delegate takes maturity, patience,
confidence and self-control. If you
believe you can do it all or insist on being a dictator, your days are
numbered like the many dictators who came before you.
Godspeed and I look forward to seeing you in
The Players Lounge.
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