Delegation is an art form. You can do it well, and you can do it badly, and I have made many mistakes when trying to delegate. It can be hard to know what to delegate first, how to delegate, who to delegate to. It is a minefield full of yet-to-explode bombs that feel as though they could detonate at any point and blow up your business… and not in a good way.

The core of good delegation is ultimately trust. If you have trust in your team members, then delegation will become a peaceful practice, freeing you up to do more of what you enjoy and to stay operating in your personal zone of expertise rather than getting bogged down in the things that are essential, but sap your energy.

I also like to ponder that the start of the word delegate is dele, which is also the start of the word “delete”. I see delegation as deleting the tasks from my diary and to-do list that I no longer wish to do. It is the process of creating new space, energy and time for what brings you alive.

I want to share with you my top tips for delegating masterfully in the hope that you will not be subjected to the painful processes I endured to learn these lessons.

Step 1 – gain clarity on what needs to be delegated

This process will be iterative and evolve as you do. Clarity is a kindness to you and to your team so always start with clarity in mind. The first step to clarity is identifying exactly what you do all day. What exactly are the tasks, jobs and responsibilities you hold at present. Write down everything that you do on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. When I say everything, I mean everything. I have no doubt that you are wearing many hats each day, which is exhausting.

When you have this full list. I want you to grade them. 1 – for jobs you enjoy, 2 – for jobs you tolerate and 3 – for jobs you hate with such intense burning passion you could spontaneously combust just at the thought of them. You know, the jobs that always seem to be left to last or just don’t get done. For me… it is anything admin related.

Our first port of call for delegation will be everything on the number three list. Look at these, see if they can fall into one job role and then create that job role.

Step 2 – be strategic, delegate your weaknesses first

We have a list of all the jobs we don’t like doing, but are you bad at them, or do you just not like doing them? Within that list there will be a lot of things you just are not good at. It may seem strange, but being bad at them is a good thing. It means it won’t be hard to find someone to do just as good a job if not better. If you are hiring someone new to complete these tasks, then hire your weaknesses.

For me, it was a game changer in my business when I hired a general manager. Why? Because I was a weak manager. They now take all the day-to-day management of the team and of our suppliers off my plate, meaning I can focus on the things I am good at and that bring me joy.

We can sometimes give up certain roles too early. For example, I hired someone to take over the sales process for me which was a mistake at that point in my business. I didn’t enjoy the sales process, but I was good at it. It is also an expensive role to hire when you factor in commissions. It would have made strategic sense to have hired other roles before that role. Then when other bases were better covered, have then hired for the sales role. Which area of your business would make strategic sense to remove yourself from first?

Step 3 – create clear systems and frameworks for work

Again, clarity is kindness. When handing over any job, you should make it as clear as possible what the role is, why the role is important, and how you expect the task to be carried out. Alongside this, allow there to be flex, after they have proven competency. Allow people to make the role their own once they have mastered it.

What does this look like? It looks like creating clear outcomes that you want to see achieved without being overly tied to the way in which you want that outcome to be achieved. This gives the individual completing the task a sense of autonomy and ownership of the role.

A simple way to do this is to record yourself doing it. There are AI tools like Scribe that are google chrome extensions, tracking what you do and creating a detailed step by step process. Once that process is created, lean into the training element of delegation which is a very simple four step process. 1 –  you do, they watch. 2 – you do, they help. 3 – they do, you help. 4 – they do, you watch.

This process allows you to methodically pass on the skills, giving feedback at each stage and avoids them feeling dropped in at the deep end. It also allows you to make sure they are completing the task in the way you want them to. It also allows time for mistakes while being supported which is really a critical part of the learning process.

If you follow all these steps, then you will become an artful delegator. It is good to check in with the tasks you are completing once per quarter to see if there is anything new for you to pass on. This also makes the team feel like they are part of the business more, that they are valued, that they are contributing and that there is room for progression for them. It also stops you becoming the bottleneck in your own business.

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