At the end of the workday, do you find yourself with tasks left unaccomplished? “There aren’t enough hours in the day” is a common expression for a reason—especially as it relates to business owners. If that to-do list seems never-ending at times or impossible to complete, know that you’re not alone. The key to regaining control of your daily schedule is to learn how to delegate. This will give you fewer responsibilities, make you a better leader, and improve your business operations.
Your company’s future is dependent upon the steps you take. To push your organization to the next level and truly learn how to break the plateau, you’ll need to understand leadership training.
Leadership training begins with three steps:
- Focusing on what you can contribute that is of the highest value for your company.
- Understanding that you are a leader.
- Developing true delegation abilities by holding yourself and others accountable.
Get the Most Bang for Your Buck
As the owner/operator of your business, you can help your company the most by properly maintaining and mobilizing the forces to make your business run. From employees to key customers and even vendors, you’re the force that leverages all of those variables. You may be thinking that there are other responsibilities where you’re the “best.” It is important to recognize that even if there are areas where you excel, your business depends on teaching others these tasks. Proper delegation and leadership will allow others to be the best in these areas, helping you focus on the big picture.
Understanding and Owning Leadership Roles
You’ve always done the “critical” or “important” jobs in your business. That is because you believe you’ll complete those tasks more thoroughly or quickly than your team. You have to learn to let that go. If you can’t properly train and delegate as a leader, then your business’s growth will be stifled. This might limit the growth of your employees or their ability to gain new skills. However, it also could hinder sales, marketing, and product development. When you’re the type of leader who believes they’re the only ones who can “do it right,” you end up creating redundancy.
Delegation and Accountability
This is your business to run—either successfully or into the ground. That means you’re always being held accountable, even when you delegate. To properly delegate, you need to follow these five quick steps:
First, chose someone who can get the job done. That means they have the skills, the available time, and the right resources to complete the task at hand. If an employee just started or only works part-time, the tasks delegated to them should be on par with their schedule availability, experience, and training level.
Communicating in a precise and definitive manner is the only way to ensure the task will be completed to your standards. Be clear about the task, its timeline, constraints, budgetary concerns, and all of the other important details. If you don’t communicate, your goals can never be met, and it will all be on you.
Plan ahead, or at least develop an outline. A complex project can be difficult to complete to your standards even for the most successful employee. Have a plan. This could mean ensuring the necessary resources are available or providing your team with a recommended approach. Having a method to your madness, or even something as simple as a timeline, can set up the task to be successfully completed.
Accountability can be the real kicker. Often, we hold ourselves accountable, but saying things like “I should’ve just done it if I wanted it done right,” is not a productive way to hold others accountable. Your employees have to know they’re being held accountable. Set up times to check in about the status of the project, whether through emailed reports or in-person meetings. This way, you can keep everything on task, and that keeps everyone accountable.
Don’t demand a task should be finished. Ask your employees to commit to contributing to your asking. If you demand a deadline, you’re ignoring their opinion on whether they can get the job done. If you require that a task be completed by a deadline, they have to commit and confirm the answer to you. Then they have bought into the project. You don’t have to be a dictator. You have to be a delegator.
Leadership Training With Bryant Consultants
The general idea of our leadership training is simple. Bryant Consultants offers on-site or remote training services to fit the needs of your business and your goals. In order to learn more about leadership training with Bryant Consultants, contact us today. Our services can help you refine your vision, establish goals, and set processes in place to evolve your business. Contact us by calling (877) 768-4799. We provide consultation, training, and coaching to help improve the operations of your business.
