Do you find letting go of business tasks hard? Does it feel like you have to relinquish full control?
Well, you aren’t alone!
Hi, I’m Kristy Smith and in my 13 years of running Virtual Elves, my belief is that the inability to “let go”, or master the “art of delegating” is the number one reason why people stay where they are and don’t grow their business.
So let’s look at why delegating might be something you fear and perhaps is the real block to your success.
1. Fear of losing control
Firstly, you need to understand that there is a difference between delegating and abdicating. Abdicating is when you hand over something with no intention of taking responsibility for the final result. Essentially tasking and forgetting and handing over control. We are talking about delegating here. With the right instruction, direction, and management of the final output, you retain control, empower the person you are delegating to, and ultimately create space and time for you to focus on what really matters. Delegating is a management skill that you CAN learn. You just have to start small and with a low-risk task to gain confidence in doing it right.
2. I can do it faster myself
Yes, of course, you can likely do the task faster, and sometimes it will take you longer to brief someone on how to perform a short task for you. But I want you to think beyond the task here. Think how many small tasks you have that when put together may take you an hour a day or more. What could you replace that with overtime if someone else was doing that for you? The more you trust the person you are delegating to, the more you will realise you can let go. folders and then share the link to the video with the person you wish to delegate to.
3. I don’t have time to train someone
Of course, you don’t have time. Because you are doing ALL the things still! Prioritise this. Make time. Get help. It doesn’t have to be hard. One of the best things I have been able to share with my clients is using video as a training tool because I’m really all about systems and making things simple. Use a tool called www.loom.com to record yourself doing the task when you normally do it (time saver right there!) Loom will not only record you speaking to your screen and explaining what you are doing but also store the video in a Library where you can create
Simple! Have a go today at recording something small and test it out. I dare you!
4. I don’t know who to delegate to
In essence, there are four key questions you need to ask yourself when considering delegating tasks.
- Is this a task that I should delegate? Have I identified if this is a core task only I should do or a task that is easily trainable?
- Who should I delegate the tasks to? How will I trust the person to whom I am going to delegate the tasks? Have I identified the skills and the right person for the task? Where do I go to find the right person?
- Am I prepared with all the materials I need to show someone what I need them to do? Have I prepared training videos/instructions and a brief on what I need and the desired outcomes and how they will be measured?
- Have I allocated time to effectively manage this delegation of tasks? Have I set aside the right amount of time for training, for questions, for opportunities to check progress, and for rework if necessary?
Now, If you are working with an in-house team already, this is not a difficult question to answer, but what if you are a small business owner doing everything yourself? Wearing all the hats. Who do you turn to for help?
As the saying goes “No man is an island” and we need to learn to first trust to be able to grow our business and to focus on the things that matter most.
That’s why for small business owners, the Virtual Assistant is a really viable option for support. They are dedicated and committed to helping business owners just like YOU.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant could be the greatest decision you make in helping you to start delegating tasks and gaining back your time.
Now I already hear you saying “Where do I start?” And I know some of you will be wondering what a VA can do for you. That’s why I started Virtual Elves in the first place, to educate and support business owners just like you to get started in a safe and risk-free way.
With 13 years of experience supporting over 400 businesses, our 45 + VAs are experienced, and professional and you can rest assured they will take great care of your business.
So, are you ready to consider delegating your first task?
As you can see, there are a lot of things that a virtual assistant can do to help save you time. From managing your social media marketing campaign to answering customer calls remotely, you handle the bottom third of all your work. So, if this sounds like you and your needs, just book a call with Kristy at www.calendly.com/15min.
