June 2008

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following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 11 June 2008</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Let others help you succeed</B></div> <bR> <div> Most small business owners I meet work very long hours looking after and building their organisations and frequently they rue their lack of time to get everything done.  One of the biggest challenges of being a business owner is that everything is ultimately down to you.  And many owners feel that they have to do it all themselves.</div> <bR> <div> But it needn't be that way.  It may seem that it's just part of the price to be paid for the independence of having your own business, but there are almost always other ways of getting things done that don't demand 16-hour days of the boss. In fact, leaders of much larger organisations face the same pressures as small business owners when it comes to one of the toughest tests of business people everywhere - learning to let go and delegate.  </div> <bR> <div> Why the nervousness about delegating a task to someone else in our business?  Mainly it's fear.  Fear that the other person won't be able to do it as well as we can or, just as commonly, a fear of embarrassment - that they might actually be better than us! Fear that we might not be quite as essential to the business as we thought.  Effectively, these fears are about losing control. But remember, giving up some control doesn't mean you're giving up leadership.  Accountability for getting things done may remain with you, but responsibility for a task can be devolved to another (either within your business or to a third party such as an outside contractor).   </div> <bR> <div> Successful delegation can buy precious time for the owner - time that can be put to more profitable use on tasks that give a better return than the activity being delegated.  It is also an excellent opportunity to develop other people, enhancing their skills and knowledge and increasing their value within the business.</div> <bR> <div> When choosing a person to whom you might delegate, consider their attitude as well as their capabilities.  Be careful not to inadvertently overload eager employees who willingly take on any task simply because they don't like disappointing others.  It's not fair to them, and it might backfire if a helpful, but overburdened employee makes mistakes simply because the owner decided to shed too many jobs.</div> <bR> <div> The desired outcome needs to be clearly defined and, often, the process for achieving the task may need to be documented in procedures and training provided for those to whom the task is delegated.  Once delegation is happening more regularly, move it down to the lowest possible level in the organisation as soon as you can, and you'll experience the power that spreading the work can unleash.</div> <bR> <div> It's not only the boss that can struggle with the issue of delegation.  Those to whom tasks are passed could well need help (beyond training), so be prepared to offer that help and, sometimes, to pick up the pieces when things don't work quite as well as you might hope.  Effective delegation is an investment in your organisation.  Invest your knowledge and your time wisely, and you'll have others helping you to succeed.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>