This was published 7 years ago
How I learned to delegate and not catastrophise
By Alexandra Cain
I reached a breaking point last week.
As a freelancer it's hard to say no to work – you're only as good as your last story, clients rarely sign long-term contracts and the pressure of a Sydney mortgage means achieving any sort of work life balance is almost impossible.
It's hard to say no to work so delegation is the solution.
Or so I thought.
Last Wednesday morning I realised that even if I worked all weekend, got up at 4am to start work and worked 16-hour-plus days, there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to get through the work to which I had committed.
But panicking wasn't going to help me, and I realised I needed to take a different approach. It was honestly an epiphany I should have had years ago.
So I picked up the phone asked one of my writerly friends whether she wanted to take on a project I had not yet begun. The answer was yes, so I rang the client and 'fessed up I was over-committed and could not do the work. But I had a solution for her.
My client was fine about it and we had a heart to heart about both being the type of people who find it hard to say no. As a result, I don't think I've damaged the relationship.
Then I rang another journo mate and asked him if he wanted to share the work on a project with me. Again the answer was yes. While the client was initially sceptical – they wanted to be sure the writing was all in the same style – we were able to negotiate a way forward.
Why I did not do this years ago I do not know.
I had always assumed that I needed to be much more formal if I wanted to shake my business up – do a new business plan, work out how I was going to employ people, set up new admin systems.
This would still be a good idea – and I might even have time to think about it now I've learned to delegate. But in the meantime at least I've realised a few small steps can change your work life immediately.
I rang the client and 'fessed up I was over-committed and could not do the work.
Matt Malouf, a business strategist with The Fortune Institute and the author of The Stop Doing List, has five tips for better delegation.
Get clear on what you want to delegate
This may seem obvious but Malouf says many business owners have so much they could or should be delegating that it paralyses them.
The idea is to start with one or two things, learn from the experience and build on it.
Ensure there is a system or checklist for the tasks you are delegating
If you want people to do things the way you want every time then give them clear instructions about how you want things done.
Provide clear and concise training
Delegation often fails because of inadequate training. So work out how you are going to teach people how to do tasks before you allocate work to them.
"You might be thinking, 'I don't have the time to train people'. But you can't get someone to take over what you do without training," says Malouf.
"Training means teaching someone what you want done, but more importantly telling them why you want it done in a specific way at a specific time."
Encourage accountability and reporting
It is important to regularly check in with your delegates to ensure the tasks you are delegating are done the way you want them done.
Says Malouf: "The task and the importance of it will determine the frequency of accountability and reporting required."
Slow down to speed up
Delegation takes time. The person you are delegating to needs time to learn and master the task you are asking them to do in the way you want it done.
"While you may feel initially that you can do it faster or better than them, my recommendation is to persist as it will save you time and money in the long run," Malouf adds.