According to The Harvard Business Review, "One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading."
Whether you're a small business owner going it alone or the CEO of a multinational corporation with an international team, you want to be the most effective leader you can be for your organization. But, many times you are so busy DOING that the LEADING part can start to falter.
That's where the art of delegating comes in and can be the difference between failure and success for you and your business. But, many leaders are afraid of delegating and see it as a bottleneck, instead of the lifesaver it is.
We hear all the time from prospective clients that they believe it will take too much of their own time to delegate. They fall into the trap of "I can just do it myself." Well, like we say in the Virtual Assistant industry -- just because you can doesn't mean you should.
If you learn to delegate the right way, your company will be more profitable and you will be more productive. What's not to love? One research study done by Forbes Magazine showed that 53% of business owners can grow their business by more than 20% if they only delegate 10% of their workload to someone else. We've actually found that statistic to be much higher.
Here are a few tips to consider as you start moving from doing to leading within your organization:
Tip #1: Provide constructive feedback to your Virtual Assistant. It's the easy ou to take back a task if you feel that your Virtual Assistant didn't quite get it the first time. Remember, it took you time to get the task to perfection. Focus on progress - not perfection - in the first weeks.
Tip #2: Unclear expectations are the root of all evil. Be clear in your expectations and ask your Virtual Assistant to confirm their understanding of those expectations. Use screenshots, Loom Videos and detailed instructions from the start to avoid any misunderstandings. Consider a "Lessons Learned" document to share, as well.
Tip #3: Take an honest look at the tasks you are spending your time on. Make a list and give each task a number from 1-10 on priority for you. 10 being things you MUST do yourself and 1 being those things that you do that are repetitive and fill your time. Start delegating those things that rate lower on the scale and work your way up.
Tip #4: Grant your Virtual Assistant some autonomy. You might have a particular way of doing something, but sometimes a new - yet experienced - set of eyes can be just what is needed to take a task to another level of success. Let your VA see what they can do and be open to suggestions as you enter into this new partnership.
Tip #5: Start small. It's difficult for anyone to hand over control of something to another person - we get it - even when that task is a basic scheduling project. But, you have to start somewhere, so start with those tedious tasks that you spend way too much time and energy on doing.
Tip#6: Let it go! There's a time to step back and let your Virtual Assistant do their thing. At Virtual Assist USA, our Virtual Assistants are not only experienced in their careers but they are trained in a variety of platforms and disciplines. Put simply - they know what they are doing!
Approach delegating to a Virtual Assistant as a long-term investment. Yes, it will take some time in the present to train your VA on these tasks, and yes, mistakes may be made. But, in the long-term, the Virtual Assistant will save you money and allow you to be more productive.
