Letting Go To Grow And The Shield Of Delegation

Delegation is difficult.

When you started your small business it was in a category or industry you know very well — and likely have a passion for.

Season after season, year after year the bond or connection you have with your business (and customers, clients, vendors and suppliers) is so close and familiar that it slowly becomes a part of you.

While that connection or bond is vital – and can often be the spark that keeps you going – it can also be the limiting factor that prevents growth.

The more customers/clients you encounter and the more your market shifts and changes each year, the more those connections will stretch and pull you in different directions — eventually to the point of exhaustion.

Not only will it exhaust you, it also will likely be what throttles your next level; if everything runs through you, then it ultimately means you are the source of the bottleneck for growth. (This isn’t always the case, of course — but it most likely will be for small businesses that are growing quickly.)

Delegation Is A Shield

As mentioned above, without delegation you’ll be exposed to every single issue, call, email from every direction your business has stakes in.

In the very early stages of small business – when things are more “microscopic”, so to speak — the volume of important decisions and items that flare up can be mostly manageable for most owners/operators.

Over time, however, as the number of interactions picks up and the more directions you get pulled in, the more you’ll feel stretched thin – like a thin pat of butter over toast.

Even the strongest, most robust small business owners are still human — energy, attention and time will always be a limiting factor.

The more infrastructure, systems and delegation you are able to put into place, the more it will shield that energy, attention and time – and save it for more important decisions you’ll need to grow.

Delegation Allows Systems To Run By Themselves (Autonomy)

Infrastructure (and systems) first.

A few weeks ago I mentioned how reinforcing your infrastructure ( the 3 T’s – tech, training and talent ) is vital for allowing your systems to operate smoothly.

Smoothly here means their ability to operate with little or no involvement from you – autonomous, in other words.

Autonomous doesn’t mean “automatic” – your systems will still rely on the talent you have in charge of- and within those systems – it simply means that they will know how to address and resolve different situations they may run into on a daily basis without your direction or intervention.

You run into systems all of the time and are already delegating (or outsourcing in a sense) without knowing it: when you deposit money into your bank, you don’t physically place your money in their vault. The bank has a system – you visit their location, speak with a bank teller and they take care of the rest – the money gets added to your account and is available all without your need or presence (outside of the initial direction).

Whether it’s phone handling & scheduling, sales/estimating (two of the most important areas for many small businesses), operations/project management, admin or customer/client support – each system that runs by itself, the more relief you’ll feel — and more freedom.

More Delegation = More Freedom

Quite frankly, most small business owners set out on their own for one main reason: freedom.

As things pick up they realize that freedom and excess time will evaporate without delegation (and associated infrastructure and systems).

There is a balance with everything, but for those with bigger ambitions – and larger goals – the art of delegation becomes vital for keeping free time, free.

Don’t “Wing It” – Create A Roadmap

Don’t delegate for the sake of delegation.

That may seem counter intuitive to this post, but haphazardly adding staff and delegating without a roadmap will likely create more issues and chaos – the exact opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.

Delegating without a plan or roadmap also means you could be setting up failure for those folks you end up delegating to (leading to turnover and even more issues to confront).

A well thought out delegation plan might look like:

1. Identifying The Systems Your Small Business Needs To Delegate
2. Defining The Roles (Title, Responsibilities, Compensation/Budget, et al.) To Run/Operate Those Systems
3. Recruiting The Talent You Need To Fill Those Roles
4. Measurement – How You Will Determine Success For That System (And Folks Running It)

Every small business will most likely have their own “system for setting up systems”, but this a simple starter checklist you can customize to your liking.

Delegation Is One Of The Hardest – But Most Important – Things You’ll Do In Business

Letting go can be frightening.

As mentioned above, many small business owners started their small business because of some passion within the industry or niche they’re in, so letting go can mean an uncomfortable feeling in most cases.

There is a comfort in being close to the work and customers – but that comfort can be limiting potential.

Untapped potential (missed opportunities) is something that will frustrate and haunt every business owner at some point, but with a little planning (continuous planning) and the right delegation you can “remove yourself from the equation” – and allow your small business maximize what it can really do.