PositivelyPittsburgh, The ABC's of Delegation

The ABC’s of Delegation

by Joyce Kane, Cybertary, Pittsburgh

Do you know someone who desperately needs to learn how to delegate but just flat out can’t?  Or even worse, won’t?  Cybertary has pulled together a short tutorial to share with that harried individual to make their life a little less harried.  The tutorial starts with …A…B…C

Analyze and Assign     Schedule some time in that busy schedule to review all of your daily, weekly, monthly tasks, ‘to-do’s’, routines and yes, even time wasters.  Put them on a  sheet of paper based on what you are good at or what you like to do cross referenced with those items that you can or cannot delegate.  You should have 4 quadrants at the end of the exercise, upper left with Good/Like /Can’t Delegate, upper right with Good/Like/Can Delegate, lower left Not Good/Don’t Like/Can’t Delegate and lower right with Not Good/Don’t Like/Can Delegate.   The analysis should generate something like this:

Good/Like/Can’t Delegate 1. 2. 3.	Good/Like/Can Delegate 1. 2. 3.
Not Good/Don’t Like/Can’t Delegate 1. 2. 3.	Not Good/Don’t Like/Can Delegate 1. 2. 3.

                                               

 Be ruthlessly honest with yourself.  Pay close attention to those tasks where you make the proverbial excuse that it “is just easier to do it myself”.

Once you have your items listed in the quadrants, highlight or note those tasks that are not moving your business forward.  It could be that you are spending the time updating your contacts list instead of calling those contacts and making an appointment that could lead to a new sale. Or, you are organizing your receipts for tax time instead of invoicing your clients to generate cash flow.  Whatever you are spending your time on should be those responsibilities that will grow your business.  For any others, see the next step.

Begin the Balance   Here is where you take small steps – it can seem like a tightrope, after all. Once you have analyzed and assigned the tasks, start to give some of those items in the lower right quadrant (Not Good At and Don’t Like, but CAN Delegate) that are not contributing to growing your business to another person, either a trusted employee or a contractor.  By taking small steps, you start getting comfortable with the concept.  An added plus is that you don’t like doing these jobs anyway.  Because you don’t like them or aren’t good at doing them, you have likely avoided tackling these responsibilities altogether.  With proper delegation, you have the opportunity to complete them by giving them to someone else to perform.

It can be enormously freeing to turn over the reins to someone whom you trust.  Ah, but you are saying, how do I find such a paragon?  Here is where Cybertary will put in a shameless plug.  Our network of virtual administrative professionals is poised to help you handle those tasks and help you get out from behind your desk, with a commitment to delivering quality, professional services.

Continue/Commit   Once you get your feet wet with delegation, you will find it surprisingly easy to continue.   Move through the list, tackling those items that you like to do and are good at, but that may not be propelling you or your business in a positive direction.  The time you have freed up by delegating the tasks that you can should be invested in those responsibilities that build your business.  

 Commit to reviewing the lists on a regular basis, perhaps monthly at first, then quarterly or semi-annually, as you continue to grow in your comfort level.  Add new tasks as they arise and continue to analyze and assess what you are doing and whether someone else could do them as well (or, horrors, better, faster, cheaper!).  You may also find tasks that simply do not need to be done anymore – another WIN in the Quality of Life game.

Analyze and Assign, Begin the Balance, Continue/ Commit = the Primer to helping you grow your business through delegation of the tasks that are not helping you progress.  It’s as easy as A…B…C!

	Joyce.Kane@Cybertary.com 1525 Park Manor Boulevard, Suite 266, Pittsburgh, PA  15205 Public Website – Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh Phone 412-428-9595, Ext. 1 Fax 412-428-9595, Ext. 3 Do what you do BEST…Let Cybertary do the REST!

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