Five Steps To Effectively Delegating Your Tasks

In the past, it has been our experience that CEOs of numerous rising companies become weighed down by wearing too many hats in order to create momentum and reach profitability. Who would have thought that the secrets to good delegation would be contained in a slinky demonstration?

One Christmas both of my daughters received slinkies from Santa. Yep� you guessed it, the same Santa that was kissing Momma underneath the mistletoe. Our first mission was to successfully run the slinky down a full flight of stairs. I had no idea a Slinky was so difficult to operate!

After quite a few frustrating attempts, I, at long last, completed a full run to the bottom of the stairs. The children cheered in excitement and we exchanged high fives. Now came the task of seeing if they could do it. The first attempts were unsuccessful and it appeared as though I was the only person in the household that could regularly send a Slinky flawlessly to the base of the stairs. Just like any good dad would, I demonstrated my style until my girls could imitate my procedure.

The following are 5 "Slinky Steps" you should use when delegating essential tasks to other members of your business:

1. Experience � Start by understanding what knowledge is required to complete the task. Is it necessary that you acquire the skill, or would it be better to hire someone who already has the skills to handle this function for you? Do you comprehend every aspect of a specific function in your business and the result someone with powerful experience can have on your profits? I once hired a graphic design firm to create some marketing kits for me and sales went up by several multipliers. A separate occasion, our firm hired attorneys that specialized in specific areas of law and we saved thousands in potential liabilities.

If you are worried about budget, keep in mind that tasks can be divided into simple, part-time functions that can be hired out at an affordable rate. For example, if your current business requires only 2 hours of bookkeeping each week, you could hire someone to do it for around $20 per week. The same tactic can be used for any other repetitive task that consumes your time. Using your precious time trying to complete all the tasks will destroy your ability to create momentum to profitability.

2. Follow a Routine - Each recurring task in your company ought to be assigned to a specific individual that's accountable for its completion. If the task requires a exceptional degree of expertise, have an expert train the assigned employee until the task is perfected. All too often, we assign a certain task and become angry when our staff is performing the task incorrectly, or inefficiently. Record the process of accomplishing the task. The task itself, and the process of completing it, ought to become a routine�a system that's documented and duplicatable.

3. Repetition to perfect the system - Perfection is achieved by refining an existing routine. If you do something differently every time you complete a task then advancement becomes nearly impossible. Systems breakdown and momentum is lost, whenever a task in your company is relentlessly being reinvented and is never allowed to solidify into a procedure.

4. Train Properly - Delegation means to properly train an assigned person to accomplish a routine task within your business. Relegation on the other hand means that you arbitrarily hand over a task without establishing an expectation, providing an example of how the task should be completed, and punishing the person because of unmet expectations. Correct training includes asking someone who is experienced to create or implement a regular and repeatable system for the task and repeating the task with the trainee until the procedure is completed perfectly.

5. Measure performance � Gain which is not measured is lost. There can be no expectation of progress if you are unwilling to implement tracking mechanisms. Objectives must be established in writing and performance ought to be gauged on the tasks that lead to achieving the goal. Hold regular meetings with your employees to make goals and collect statistics. Management becomes a much easier task when you track the progress of properly delegated tasks.

As a real-life experiment, buy yourself a Slinky (No... they haven't paid me for a product placement!) and develop a procedure for getting it to go perfectly down a flight of stairs. Then attempt to train somebody on your procedure and see if they can duplicate your results. Record each successful and unsuccessful run in a notebook. Look over your results and learn your new training process! Happy Delegating!

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Rod Alan Richardson has dedicated his life to teaching people to succeed in free enterprise through Business Training. Mr. Richardson believes he can change the world by directing people to a higher road and putting them on the path to Transcend Money.