No delegation, no freedom.

You know you need to do it, and I’m going to give you four ways to cancel your excuses and make delegation happen.

Fix your processes

One reason delegating feels so difficult is that your subconscious knows that it’s going to be embarrassing to hand off a messy process.. 

Maybe it is riddled with workarounds that you need to solve, or maybe it’s shamefully clumsy and the idea of handing it to someone else is mortifying.

This is your cue to fix it.

If necessary, walk through it with someone else and get their feedback about what makes sense to them and what doesn’t.

A clearly defined process can be documented, and a clearly documented process can be delegated.

Prioritize documentation

Once a solid process is in place, you need a consistent way to communicate how it works to your team. 

SHOWING someone how a process works is a great idea, but it can’t be the only way the information is transferred because you will never explain it the same way twice and you will always be the one they come to with questions.

Instead, write the process down in something like a shared Google Doc. Include pics or short videos where useful. The goal is to give them a reference document that can answer 90% of the questions they will have after you go home for the day.

Don’t worry about capturing every imaginable detail. Publish a serviceable first draft and commit to updating these docs as new questions surface. Every minute spent documenting the answer saves you maaaaaaaaany more minutes not answering that question for eternity.

Remember: it isn’t really faster to just do it yourself.

Doing it yourself because you think it will be faster is problematic for a couple reasons.

1. You’re wrong. It’s only faster if it only has to be done ONCE, and that isn’t even always true.
2. You’re robbing your team of an opportunity to learn how to do it for you.

Delegating will absolutely require you to spend time training others, but that is the up front cost that will save you so much more time in the future. 

Abandon perfection. It’s a noose around your neck.

If you are convinced that no one else could ever do a given task as well as you, you’re going to be very busy for the rest of your days.

Instead of holding yourself hostage to an unnecessary standard, force yourself to set a more reasonable standard, clearly document your expectations, and let it go.

Entrepreneur and Author Dan Martell suggests that if someone can hit 80% of your “perfect” outcome without your intervention, you are WINNING.

If you are ready to get serious about delegating effectively so that you can make your profitable small business work for you, check out my Make Your Business Work For You Mastermind that kicks off on April 10th. 

You, and a small cohort of profitable owners, will spend 12-weeks fundamentally redefining your relationship with your business and developing the processes and documentation necessary to start delegating more effectively. Join now at http://geoffwelch.com/mastermind.