What is holding you back from delegating to your team?  

Most of the business owners and CEOs I meet here in DFW want to engage their teams to take on more responsibility.  However, they often lack the confidence that the team will step up and get it done right, so they keep doing it themselves.  These leaders find themselves doing things other people could do, and then they don’t have any time for the things that only they can do the best. 

We’ve all heard the expression you need to stop working IN your business, so you can start working ON your business.  This is a challenge for many leaders but it’s essential so you can invest your time on the bigger picture and still have a personal life – and yes, you deserve to have a thriving personal life.

Four things required to make delegation work:

– CLEAR & COMPELLING communication of what you want.  Not only what you want done, how and when, but the why.  You need to communicate the reason this needs to be done a certain way so they rise up to your level of expectation.  

– TOOLS to do it effectively and efficiently.  Your team needs the equipment, process documents, software, and skills to do it in a timely manner or you will take the work back and do it yourself.

– TRAINING to do it consistently.  Once they know why and what, and they have the tools to do it efficiently, you need to see them deliver the work, fine tune their efforts and results, and then let them own it from there on.

– ACCOUNTABILITY to the results each time.  After someone on your team has shown they know the why, they have the tools and training to do it with excellence, walk away and let them do it.  If they drop the ball, find out why and help them improve.  If they fail to consistently deliver the results, you need to decide if they are good for the team or let them go.  

Excuses For Not Delegating.

Sometimes we are worst enemy when it comes to delegating to our team.  I’ve heard these excuses from business owners and CEOs in DFW as to why they do not let go and let their team take on more.  See if you are held back by any of these.

1.) “The team is too busy to take on more work.”

So are you, but you seem willing to trade off time with your family to stay up into the night doing things your team should be doing.  If anyone should be working overtime it’s the people you pay, not the person who owns the company and carries the emotional burden for the entire company 24 hours a day.  

That may seem harsh but burnout leads to poor leadership decisions that can affect the entire company.  Let the team work overtime for a while and add staff once you see the workload will not decrease AND sales continue to rise. Focus on things that only you can do the very best, then delegate the rest.

2.) “They won’t do it as good as me.”

Maybe, or maybe at some point, they’ll even do it better, or does this make you feel even more uncomfortable?  Either way, you won’t be doing it and can focus on other things you really need to take care of.  Delegation is a transfer of trust, so when you give someone a responsibility, you’re telling them you trust them enough to let them take on the work.  

This will build employee engagement, confidence, and loyalty to the team.  You’re also building a team that can grow your company even when you’re not there, something investors will look for when offering to buy your business someday.

“Delegation is a Transfer of Trust.”

3.) “I really love doing the work.”

Some CEOs tell me they are the best salesman in the company.  That’s pretty sad.  Your job as CEO is to hire leaders that do the work better than you, so you can grow and focus on other opportunities.  You may love crunching the numbers, hiring people, or closing deals, but if you ever plan to sell your company someday, you need to work yourself out of a job to make the company truly valuable.  (Find out the current value of your company here)

4.) “It’s my pet project.”

A CEOs job is to create a clear and compelling vision, communicate this to the team and let them get it done.  Just because you thought of the idea does not mean you need to be the one to drive the project.  Letting other leaders step up and lead will free you up to think of the next big idea or opportunity and build teams of leaders instead of employees.

5.) “It takes too much time to teach them how to do it right.”

This is why some companies will always be just a small shop until the owner dies.  Yes, it does take time to transfer the knowledge and skills to others but consider the tradeoff you are getting for letting someone else do the work.  If you pay yourself $250,000 a year from your company, the company is paying you $120 an hour. Your $40,000 a year employee only cost the company $20 an hour.  Who do you want to pay to clean out the storage closet, correct software issues, or plan an employee lunch?

If you struggle to delegate, you are not alone.  Talk to me about our CEO Groups in DFW and find the wisdom and insight you need to be your best.  Your team is counting on you. 

Robert Hunt

Renaissance Executive Forums Dallas

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