How to Overcome the Fear of Delegation as a Business Owner

As a business owner, overseeing, managing, and strategising to scale your business can be overwhelming. A great way to shed some weight is to delegate. However, many hesitate to delegate for fear that the tasks won’t be handled like they would do them. While this mindset seems reasonable, it could lead to inefficiency and missed opportunities.

Delegation when effectively done is a game-changer. It frees up time, helps you focus on high-priority tasks, and helps your team thrive. 

Here are steps to overcome the fear of delegation and thrive in the marketplace: 

• Start Small: Start by assigning little chunks of responsibility to shed the weight gradually. The lesser the task you begin with, the easier to observe and mitigate possible issues that may occur. As they grow, you gain confidence in their abilities and delegate more complex tasks. 

• Develop Trust: Trust doesn’t happen suddenly, it’s built with time. When a team member has proven to be reliable, you can delegate tasks to them. While delegating, provide necessary details to avoid misunderstanding or wrong outcomes. When they successfully deliver, celebrate their wins. Also, provide constructive feedback where necessary to help them improve. 

• Let Go of Perfectionism: Perfectionism is a concept that leaves people stagnant and dissuades growth. Always encourage your team members. Choose progress over perfectionism. There might be rough patches while learning but don’t focus on the mistakes as it only magnifies the errors. See mistakes as a learning curve and provide feedback. Acknowledge the effort put into achieving results regardless of the mistake. No one is perfect, not even you. Give room for others to pick themselves up when they fall.

• Communicate Clearly: The importance of communication cannot be over-emphasised. One of the biggest hindrances to effective delegation is poor communication. Assigning a task or project without clear instructions often leads to catastrophe. Always ensure that the necessary resources to aid the success of a task are provided as you equip your team with the right information. 

• Delegate Effectively: Sometimes, assigning the right task to the wrong person can lead to a bad outcome. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your team and leverage them to delegate. The power of delegation lies in assigning the right task to the right person. It’s okay not to delegate a task that is your area of strength, just ensure you are strategic in your approach when delegating. 

In conclusion, delegation is not a sign of weakness; it depicts true leadership. Delegation is a strategy that empowers others to make better use of your time while you focus on what matters the most – growing your business. 

At Sisi Manager, our VAs are trained to handle high-priority tasks such as calendar management, DM management, admin support, social media management, etc. You can delegate these tasks to us and trust us to handle them.  Contact us here @sisimanager.