Delegating When You've Always Done It Yourself

If you've always done everything yourself, handing over the reins to someone else seems almost impossible, right?

It can feel like "no one can do this task as accurately or efficiently as me” or “it would take too long to train someone else to do it right”. 

This is a really common mindset to fall into, but it almost always leads to burnout and overwhelm as you try to manage everything.

Delegating your tasks is the only way to free up the time you need to move your business forward.

Here are our top three tips for mastering the art of delegation if you're someone that struggles to let go of control: 

1. Evaluate the tasks that you could delegate 
   Once you really start to think about it, a lot of the admin tasks that you handle day to day could be delegated with the right handover and training.

   Try jotting down the things that you are doing on an average day (maybe even record how long these things are taking you). Once you see it laid out in front of you, you'll be able to spot the 'quick little jobs’ that are eating up a lot of your time.

   These are the kind of tasks that could be delegated to a team member or VA with the right training. 
    

2. Provide detailed instructions and training 
   Set your team up for success!

   Provide detailed instructions on how to complete the process that you are delegating by way of video or written instructions (or both!).

   Don't assume that any steps in the process are common sense, obvious or unimportant. Start right at the very beginning - what prompts this task to be undertaken? How often does it need to be completed? Do you need to navigate to a webpage, log in to an account? Where are the login details kept? 

   By investing time at the start to provide such detailed instructions, you'll save time in the long run as your team will be able to complete the task to the same high standard as you have been. If your team is able to understand the 'why' behind a task, they're more likely to be able to troubleshoot any unexpected problems, and will be more invested in getting the best possible results. 
   
   While creating detailed instructions can be as simple as typing out your process in a Word document or intranet site, two tools that we love to make this process easier are Berrycast and Tango.us.

   Berrycast allows you to create screen recording videos with audio so that you can talk team members through the whole process of completing a task in real time. Video instructions are great because they leave very little room for error when someone else takes over, and they're available to refer back to again and again.

   Tango.us is a Google Chrome extension which, when turned on, automatically creates detailed written instructions with screenshots of your process, which you can save and share as a PDF. 
     

3. Trust! 
   Now that you've invested time into training and provided detailed instructions around the task that needs completing, it's time for the hardest part - let go and trust that your team member or VA is going to get the job done.

   This doesn't mean that you can't check in on the process as your team member finds their feet, and it doesn't mean that they won't have questions for you in the beginning. Being available in this transition period is really important to ensure that the task is completed successfully. 

   What it does mean is that you can now step back and allow them to take over completing the task for you.

   Little by little, as the tasks that you delegate stack up, you'll start to reap the benefits of a lighter to-do list, and more time in your day to focus on big-picture, strategic tasks within your business. 

Not sure exactly what type of tasks you could delegate? Browse through our list of 101 things here.  

If you're ready to start delegating to our team of award-winning virtual assistants, book a chat with us here to go over the things that we could take off your to-do list.