To whom we outsource, what we outsource, and how we explain what we want! This is the secret of our business success.

By Mia Kollia

Just ask yourself how many times you have told someone, "Don' t be so focused". And you will understand how important it is to be able to divide tasks.
A vital pitfall, therefore, for many developing and already developed businesses is the need for their owner to assign moral responsibilities to the right employees. This works negatively because the constraints of the entrepreneur become the constraints of the business itself.

Undoubtedly, it' s challenging to strike the right balance between maintaining control of our business and delegating parts of it to employees or contractors. But our refusal to cede some responsibilities can devastate business results, employee engagement, and our personal lives. Here are nine steps to help us delegate some tasks so we can focus on growing our business.

1. We take an objective look at our workload.

We analyze precisely what we do by keeping a diary of our time for two weeks. How much time is spent on strategic activities, and how much on the company’s day-to-day life? Are there essential jobs we are putting off? Then we think about what tasks someone
else could perform to free us up to engage in higher-value activities.

Benefit: We identify the lower-value tasks that consume our time.

2. We see where our contribution is most needed.

Successful entrepreneurs know their strengths and weaknesses. Maybe we love sales and marketing, but accounting makes us angry. Why not delegate them - as well as other areas where we are less intense - to employees who are better than us at them?

Benefit: Our #1 job is to be the company’s leader. By stepping back and letting others manage specific areas and take on some of the load, we make our lives easier and improve our business performance.

3. We find the best for the company.

We look for employees who are ready and able to take on more responsibility. When hiring, we take the time to hire employees with skills that complement our own. We create clear job descriptions, structured evaluation processes, and appropriate incentives. So, these
people will help us achieve our business goals.

Benefit: Our company will benefit from diverse, complementary expertise.

4. Education. Guidance. Trust

Lack of confidence is delegation' s worst enemy. Our people can take on more complex tasks with proper training and guidance. We must resist the voice that says we are the only ones who can do things right. Or that it will take a long time to train someone in something. The initial investment of time will yield the right results many times over.

Benefit: We are at the top of our business and ready to provide advice and feedback to employees.

5. We share our business strategy with employees.

We should not run our company from a closed castle. Having a vision for the future that we share with our employees makes work more meaningful for our staff and gives them direction.

Benefit: We gain access to an excellent source of fresh, innovative ideas.

6. We make a program of repetitive processes.

Every company follows some specific procedures which are redundant. We don' t need to keep them in mind, either. That' s why we write them down clearly and, in every detail, and distribute them to our staff so they can refer to them at any time.

Benefit: We can be out of the office to get things done.

7. We focus on results.

There is no need to stress when we see our employees not exactly adopting our way of working. We want people focused on getting the job done without worrying about how we would do it or what we think.

Benefit: We might be pleasantly surprised. Always doing something a certain way doesn' t necessarily mean it' s the best way.

8. Monitor without micromanaging.

Successful entrepreneurs maintain control as they delegate some tasks. For example, they hold regular one-on-one meetings with key employees and are briefed on
essential projects to ensure they have an overview of the most critical projects.

Benefit: We know the most critical tasks. This way, we can consult and provide feedback to the employees.

9. We encourage direct assignment reports.

Leadership starts at the top of the organization, but managers in a growing company must also learn to delegate some of their duties while keeping us in the loop.

Benefit: This is how we create a healthy corporate structure, allowing us to lead its development.