Let me give you some encouragement, once you learn the process of delegating, your productivity will increase, you will see growth in your business, and you will find that you are happier. Your productivity will increase because you will have a system getting projects complete, which will include only working on things that you are good at. The growth in your business will come due to the increase in productivity and your ability to now have time to work on your business. Finally you will be happier because you have created a well oiled machine that gets the job done!

What can you do to get this happier you? What steps can you take to make delegating easier?

1. Determine how you spend your time. Take a week or so to document how you are spending your time. Write down the tasks you are working on, how much time you are spending on each task, and how you feel while you are working on this task. What tasks are you spending a lot of time on? What tasks are causing you to be frustrated? To complete this step use either a time tracker program or a notebook.
2. What are your strengths? What do enjoy doing? Your goal is to work on tasks that are your strengths. If you are a solopreneur this can be difficult to imagine but if you want to reduce your stress and see your business grow, this has to be your focus. If you are not sure what your strengths are check out Strengths Finder written by Tom Rath.
3. List the process for getting tasks / projects completed. The purpose of creating the process is to give the person you are delegating to a reference point and to let them know what the end result should be. As you writing your each step, think about it from their perspective of not knowing what the end product looks like. Give them as much detail as possible include programs, passwords and other tools need to complete the task.
4. Schedule time to check in. Once your have went over each step, schedule a time to check in or follow up. You want to give them time to use your process and come up with questions and issues.
5. Tweak your delegating process. We all know that processes are not perfect and the best indicator is when you have someone else test your seemingly perfect process. This is when you figure out what did work and what didn’t,  then determine how you and your team can fix it. Remember the goal – you want tasks to remain off your plate so that you can work on strengths and things that will grow your business.

For many entrepreneurs, delegating can be daunting and sometimes frustrating piece of growing their business. It doesn’t have to be that way. Taking time visualize what you and your business would look like if you had someone helping you grow your business can be the thing that makes you decide that you no longer want to do everything by yourself. How do you spend your time? What tasks would you like to let go of? Take action today to start delegating more tasks so that you become the entrepreneur that you dream of.

1. You know your purpose or the purpose of what you are committing to. Many times people commit because someone else has had success. Another person success does not guarantee yours. They had their own motivation. They had their own reason for committing. Be sure to understand why you are committing. Doing this will help when you go through tough times.
2. You are putting your plan into action AND executing. In other words you are willing to do what it takes to stay committed. The act of committing and then planning your action steps is the easy part, the difficulty comes when you have perform.
3. You are able to keep going even when you don’t get the results you want. What most people don’t plan for are the hurdles that will come. Think of a married couple – there will be many not-so-happy moments that will come after the honeymoon.
4. You are making sacrifices. Imagine a college student who has a full load of classes but also has friends that like to party. If this college student wants good grades they will have to sacrifice nights out to study. You will be faced with many choices – are you willing to make the sacrifice so that you stay committed?
5. You have been able to say NO. You have a limited amount of time, money, and energy and as such you have to be willing to say no. This too can be a struggle for people because of the need to be of service or to not disappoint. If you are able to say NO you are saying that you know your priorities and that you are committed.

Now it’s your turn.

Think about the things you have committed to – things you have said yes to. Have you been committed or just going through the motions? Sometimes you have to look in the mirror and ask yourself, “Am I truly committed?” If you haven’t been, it’s time for you to make a change.

How have you shown that you are committed? What would you add to the 5 signs?

What are you willing to compromise?
A house full of children, a husband, a business on the rise, and then there is me. On this sunny day full of activity, I had to ask what will I give up so that I can still be fulfilled at the end of my day.

Many people struggle with compromise. They are not sure if it’s selfish of them to spend time alone or do something for themselves. They question if they are spending too much time working and not enough time with their family, Or maybe if they are giving their growing business the good ole college try. Until finally one day you ask yourself what am I willing to compromise to get the life that I want?

Compromising involves three things:

Understanding your values. Your values are the core of you and your business. They are used when you must make difficult decisions but are the foundation to any successful organization. What are your values?

ACTION: Take a moment to rank these values in order of importance. How important are they in your life? Be sure to add other values that are important to you:

compassion, discipline, forgiveness, gratitude, honesty, humility, integrity, joy, patience, perseverance, and spirituality.

Understanding the values of those you work with. Take time to understand the values of the people you work with. This does not mean that you agree with their values but that you respect them. Knowing their values will help identify areas of similarity and it will prepare you for those moments when you disagree. In some cases, your values are so far apart that it will be difficult for you to work together.

ACTION: Ask your team to do the exercise above. Compare the similarities and the differences. Start a dialogue about your companies values.

Being able to meet in the middle. This stage is all about respecting the other party. It’s not to say that you will give up what you believe, but that you are open to their point of view.

ACTION: To meet in the middle, identify where the conflict lies. Think of ways that you can work together and how it can be beneficial for everyone.

What are your values? If anything, what are you willing to compromise? I would love to get your feedback in the comment section below.

You have become armed with all these skills that are keeping you away from working in your strengths. This also has you struggling to let go, not knowing who to hire, or if it’s worth hiring them.

Up until this point you probably have spent too much time learning all the things you don’t need to learn hoping that some day you will need to use it. This is not sustainable and it is costing your business. Your focus needs to be working on the one or two things that you and your business are good at and minimize, outsource, or ignore the rest. Simply put you have to learn to focus on what makes you unique and delegate the rest or you will risk killing your business.

What three things do you need to arm yourself with so that you don’t kill your business?

Learn something you will use AND that you will apply everyday. We have access to information – sometimes too much information. Being inundated with so much information can cause you to become overwhelmed, be indecisive, or unwilling to take risks. When you work on things that you are good at, you become more productive and you are able to utilize the skills of others.

Get rid of the fear of delegating. We have a finite amount time, 168 hours in a week to be exact and a finite amount of energy. With limited time and energy plus the increasing list of tasks and projects that you will have in your business and life, you will need to delegate in order for you to accomplish goals. So it is important for you to stop being afraid to delegate if you want to grow your business.

Choose the ammunition that will get you the best results. When you focus on the things that you are good at, and allow others to work on everything else, you find the sweet spot of continuous growth. Learn skills that will enhance what you are already good at. If you are not going to use it beyond tomorrow – don’t learn it.

Take a look at the list of trainings that you are either signed up for or want to do.

1. Do they align with your strengths?

2. Will they enhance what you already know?

3. Will you use what you will learn from this training long-term?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself when you spend time and in many cases money, on learning new skills for you and your business.

You are preparing to hand over a project. You have found someone who works well with others, can follow instruction, has a great personality, and has the skillset necessary to work with you your business. The problem?

You are still not sure if what you give her will be done with the same level of quality that you expect. You fear that she won’t do it the way you want. And as a result you continue to feel overwhelmed by all the projects on your plate.

The first mindset shift you need to have is that it won’t be done the way you would do it. Your focus needs to be getting things off your plate so that you can spend more time on activities that will grow your business. The question then is how do you start delegating without micromanaging?

Use the 5 levels of delegation. These levels will help you build trust which will make it easier to let go.

Level 1 – Do as I say. At this level you are asking for each task to be performed exactly as you say. They are not to deviate from your instructions. Keep in mind your team member may be able to provide ways improve your system, but your goal at this stage is to be certain that they are able to follow your instructions.

Level 2 – You state the task and your team member closes the loop. At this level, you are letting your team member know what the end result needs to be, giving them suggestions for completing the task, and asking them to close the loop or let you know that it was done and what the results were. At this level your focus is communication, communication, communication.

Level 3 – You state the task and then your team makes a recommendation on how it should be handled. Your team member now understands your business inside and out – your systems, goals, and are able to work with your customers at a high level. Now, you need to give your team member the tools necessary to run tasks or projects on her own so that she can start planning or anticipating projects.   At this level your goal is to begin the process of creating a mini-you.

Level 4 - Your team member plans the task and then let they let you know what they did. Your team member is able to anticipate what a project needs for completion. Your only request is that she lets you know what she did.

Level 5 – Get ‘er done! This is the highest level of delegation and can take some time to get to. At this level trust is at it’s peak and you feel that you could hand over your check book.  :)  Getting to this level takes trial and error but once you get here, it is the best thing that your business can ask for. Working with someone at this level helps you to spend most of your time doing activities that only the CEO can do.

In order for these levels of delegation to work, every person that you are delegating to needs to begin at Level 1. Your team member may go through each level quickly but it should be at a pace that is building trust. Some people and  tasks take longer to get to Level 5 but going through these levels of delegation will help you get things of your plate – and keep them off.

Handing over certain aspects of your business is difficult for many business owners. As a result growth becomes difficult, takes longer, and contributes to the statistic that most business don’t last beyond 5 years. What can you do so that you continue to grow and don’t become a statistic? Learn to Stay in Your Lane.

What does staying in your lane mean?

For the business owner, it is only doing those things that you were meant to do. It is focusing and only using your time and energy to work on the things that are your gifts. Everything else is handed off to someone else.

Why should you stay in your lane?

Because you will cause an accident! When you choose to not stay in your lane you risk spending too much time on non-revenue generating activities. You will find yourself multi-tasking which is not productive. You will spend energy working on something that someone else has already mastered. More importantly you can miss those opportunities to work on your business.

What action can you take to ensure you are staying in your lane? (READ MORE)

1. Work on things that are your gifts. This takes time but you need to set up your business so that you are working on your business and not in it. Create the structure to make it easier for you to delegate those tasks that are not your forte. Utilize the skills of the people in your network.

2. Identify the tasks that are taking too much of your time and that are not revenue generating activities. Make a list of what you are doing each day for a week. After the week is over, review what you were spending your time on and determine if those tasks are revenue generating. If they are not, how can you get them off your plate so that you can work on tasks that are your gifts?

What crucial details are you missing when you delegate and what can you do to avoid these mistakes?

1. Delegate the activity versus the result. When you delegate let your team know what the end result should be. Perhaps what it should look like or how your client should feel. It may be a good idea to show your team the steps you took prior to hiring them with the understanding that they are free to use your system and make changes.

2. Communication is Key – There are three ways that people communicate when delegating:

(1) over communicate  - is there a such thing yes. This is a form of micromanaging. When you over communicate it resembles you repeating yourself over and over but it is still not clear to your team.

(2) under communicate – you don’t give enough information and therefore making it impossible for your team to know what you want

(3) it’s just right – they understand what is expected and are able to do the job

Key: Your team member is not a mind reader. Be clear on the best ways to communicate with your team. Make sure they understand what you expect. This could mean using several means of communication – voice, visual, or video.

3. Truly Let Go – delegating is a science and one of the elements is trust. As we all know trust is earned but to start off you need to understand where your trust level is. Many times our trust level is low because of experiences that we had. Unfortunately anyone after a bad experience will have a hard time earning your trust. Be clear on your expectation and how your team members can earn your trust. Be sure to communicate with them so they know what they have to do to meet or exceed your expectations.

Key: Know that once your begin to trust, the benefit to your business will be priceless.

1. Their Talents – Know what your team is made of and start to utilize those talents. This step is going beyond what their “resume” says. Refer to what their references said, and of course working with them will help you find out what their talents are.

Key: Get to know your team members fully.

5. The Problem – If delegating continues to make you anxious, ask yourself – Why is this so hard for me? The answer could be rooted in some deep issues that you need to start to deal with so that you can prepare for growth. The problem could be that you need to set up the structure necessary to make delegating easier. Doing this well help you understand what you need to delegate and how.

Key: Create systems in your business to make delegating easier.

Delegating involves making many choices but the one of the keys is learning to trust, setting up proper communication channels, and helping your team know what results you expect. What will you start doing today to put you on the path to being an effective delegator?

She said Yes to the mess! She said Yes to running around like a chicken with her head cut off, wasting time searching for files, being late to most of her meetings, barely meeting deadlines, and burning the candle on both ends.

She said yes to the frustration of learning about new software because it was difficult to let someone else do handle her projects.

She even said yes to not being able to spend time with her family because she was so busy working on her client’s business and hers as well.

For her this was life. Until year 3 when she finally threw her hands up and said,

“NO! I can’t do this anymore. I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am tired of feeling like I am not accomplishing anything. I am ready to see progress. I am ready to spend time with family. I am ready to get rid of this mess!”

What did she do?

1. Cleared her plate. And the only thing she added was what was absolutely necessary. She only said Yes to the things that would get her closer to her goals.
2. She created a structure for her days and weeks. Each day had a theme or purpose. She created writing days, meeting days, business development days, and chill-out days.
3. She hired a organizer to help with her office and files.
4. She only took on what she could handle.
5. Made it a priority to spend time with her family and have some alone time.

Are you saying Yes to the Mess? What will you do today to take back your business and your life?

Know What You Need

My good friend and sisterpreneur Antoinette Sykes, founder of the Rich Chicks Society, has a saying,“Rich Chicks know their number.” They know their credit score.

Along those same lines, if you want to run your business with ease, you need to know what you need. There are four areas you need to focus on – people, how much will it cost, tools you will need, and how much time you have.

People

This often is just you. But sometimes what you need to get the job done is outside of your expertise or it would be more practical if someone else completed the project.

Budget

Most business owners prefer to spend as little as possible. So thinking about what costs are associated with your project is helpful. Many times you are not aware of certain costs. If that is the case, you may need to reach out to your network to get an idea of the costs.

Tools

For every tool, there are ten similar tools that you could use to help you run your business. My number one rule, keep it simple.

Time

There are two components with time that you need to consider. The first component is the due date. The second component is the time for each project, especially if the project has been broken up into manageable tasks.

Do you need help figuring out what you need? Schedule a FREE Run Your Business Session TODAY!