If you want something done … delegate!

Every entrepreneur or business owner knows that running a business is all about execution. It’s about making sure the right things happen at the right time to the right people. The problem comes when there are many fires to put out at the same time. You need clear direction and support to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Delegating those smaller fires gives you time to focus your company’s larger, more impactful work.

But delegating isn’t easy; it’s a skill that must be practiced and honed over time. The better you become at aligning the right people with the right tasks and responsibilities, the more effective you become. Billionaire Facebook mogul, Sheryl Sandberg, has admitted, “I have to force myself to trust other people with my work because I know that’s how I grow.” Notice she said she has to force herself to trust others with her work. Here are some ways to do just that—and make the most out of delegation:

Delegate in 3 easy steps (A-B-C)

A – Analyze your workload

Before you hand off your responsibilities to another person, you need to do the work of analyzing your workload. Organizing a work week isn’t one-size-fits-all. We recommend our favorite method of task analysis, the EISENHOWER MATRIX:

B – Break larger projects into smaller tasks

It is very easy to get overwhelmed when thinking about how much work needs to be done, so break tasks down into smaller chunks, and assign them accordingly. Use this chart to get brainstorming task ideas:

C – Communicate & collaborate

Once your plan is ready, it is time to communicate and collaborate. Communicating with those whom you are delegating tasks to is important not only because it is their job to execute on your tasks, but this is where you build that essential trust in the delegating process. It is also important to be clear and consistent for this step to get exactly what you want from everyone involved. Some tips for how to do this:

• Add detailed instructions for the task right in Google Docs then share the link. Include screenshots, links to sample work that you like, links to brand guides and asset folders etc.
• Use Loom to record an instructional video. Do you want to save even more time? Instead of spending hours perfecting instructions, record your screen as you would normally perform any task. Instructional video done!
• Provide a link to an entire folder of documents you wish to be processed in a similar manner.
• Communicate specific deadlines or the limit of time you want spent on the task.

We all know delegating is not as easy as ABC, but this gets you started!

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Ready to start delegating those tasks? We have two exciting options for delegating  your to-do list today:

• If you use Slack, check out askBetty. askBetty can help you get those smaller fires off your plate by giving you access to a team of Canadian and American virtual assistants. Here are some things the askBetty team can do for you.

• Need help with larger, ongoing projects? Work with one or more of our superhero virtual assistants. Get started now and we’ll match you with your perfect VA (or team!) in minutes.