I’ve been working on my full-day Multi-VA workshop which I will be presenting at the Forum on Virtual Assistance on June 4th (If you haven’t yet signed up for the conference, get to it, it’s awesome!). I’ve been piecing together all of the topics that I find to be the most challenging for the Multi-VA Owner.
One of the topics on my list is delegating and learning how to let go. This can be huge challenge for some Multi-VA owners, especially those who are just beginning to transitioning into this business model. Although a topic I’ll be covering specific to Multi-VA owners at the workshop, this topic is one that can resonate with many regardless of what profession you are in.
Delegating is not an easy thing to do for some. The hesitations and yes, excuses for not delegating are common:
- It takes too much of my time to show someone else how to do it
- What if they don’t do it the same way I do?
- I won’t know everything that’s going on
- They will make mistakes
Yes, it will take time to teach someone what it is you do- a short inconvenience for long term gain. And yes, they may make mistakes. Ask yourself how well you did when you first started the task? I’m sure there were a few bumps in the road.
Delegating is about learning to let go and trusting in other’s abilities to support you with the tasks at hand. This doesn’t mean you have to simply drop the task off blindly and hope all goes well. There is a simple model you can use to make delegating much easier for you and the person you are delegating to:
Step One: PREPARE – Explain the task and define roles of responsibility
Step Two: SHOWING – You complete the task, team member observes, you de-brief.
Step Three: COACHING – Team member does task, you observe, provide guidance, discuss performance
Step Four: TRYOUT – Team member does task, reports back to you, discuss performance
Step Five: DELEGATE – Team member takes on full responsibility, you monitor and check in.
How long each step will take will be determined by the complexity of the task and the skill set of the team member. It may take a day, a week or two weeks. Again remember the big picture, the long term gain!
So, start putting your delegation plan in place, you’ll be glad you did!
