Delegation: What Your Team Wishes You Knew
From Outpost Blog:
For someone who prefers knowing that I alone control the outcome of a project, trusting others to hold up their end wasn’t an easy thing to do. It felt so blind; maybe my teammates would do a good job, but maybe not. Maybe they wouldn’t do the work at all, and I’d be left to pick up the pieces.
Sometimes I’d throw up my hands and just take on all the work; hey, at least then it’d get done, right? Other times, I’d delegate like crazy and cross my fingers. Still, the entire process always felt a bit hellish and not conducive to putting out great work.
It’s an experience that probably rings true to many new entrepreneurs and small business owners.
In the beginning, it was likely just you—you were the only one running your business, making key decisions, and doing the work.
You did the whole “group project” on your own; while it may have meant a lot of late nights and gnashing of teeth, you could be confident that everything was being done to your standards, and there was never any doubt about whether or not something had been completed.
However, difficulty arises when it’s time to scale. As your business grows, you’ll inevitably need to take on more team members.
Suddenly, projects that you would have taken on all by yourself are now your responsibility to split up and assign to multiple people. Not only are you faced with the prospect of giving over control of your “baby,” but you also have limited oversight on who is doing what. You have the power and responsibility to delegate effectively—but doing so can be a challenge.
For someone who prefers knowing that I alone control the outcome of a project, trusting others to hold up their end wasn’t an easy thing to do. It felt so blind; maybe my teammates would do a good job, but maybe not. Maybe they wouldn’t do the work at all, and I’d be left to pick up the pieces.
Sometimes I’d throw up my hands and just take on all the work; hey, at least then it’d get done, right? Other times, I’d delegate like crazy and cross my fingers. Still, the entire process always felt a bit hellish and not conducive to putting out great work.
It’s an experience that probably rings true to many new entrepreneurs and small business owners.
In the beginning, it was likely just you—you were the only one running your business, making key decisions, and doing the work.
You did the whole “group project” on your own; while it may have meant a lot of late nights and gnashing of teeth, you could be confident that everything was being done to your standards, and there was never any doubt about whether or not something had been completed.
However, difficulty arises when it’s time to scale. As your business grows, you’ll inevitably need to take on more team members.
Suddenly, projects that you would have taken on all by yourself are now your responsibility to split up and assign to multiple people. Not only are you faced with the prospect of giving over control of your “baby,” but you also have limited oversight on who is doing what. You have the power and responsibility to delegate effectively—but doing so can be a challenge.
Comments