Delegation Dilemma

Picture this ! A young man buys himself a brand new Mercedes. He hires a classy chauffeur in white uniform and white gloves. But he always drives the car himself, while the chauffeur sits in the rear seat enjoying the ride in the sedan.

This is what most of the Entrepreneurs look like. The two main reasons that we always drive our own Mercedes are – one we don’t think that the chauffeur is good enough to handle our shiny vehicle or two we love to drive. And its reason number one in most of the cases.

We the company is in startup stage, the operations are small and manageable. As an Entrepreneur we are in charge of every department and in case of solopreneurs we are every department. But as the business grows and scales, it becomes important to make sure that every department of the business process is working in optimum condition. An entrepreneur, since s/he loves the work like a child wants to be certain about all the things being in place. This is where the Dilemma to Delegation starts.

The key to understand here is, as an Entrepreneur, it is essential to wear many hats, but not necessary to wear every hat. There are lots of jobs that don’t need your level of commitment, sense of ownership, expertise and skill. These jobs can easily be delegated and must be delegated. But as you do that, you must be very choosy and alert as to what shall be delegated and what shall be not. To do this you must understand every process in your business and must be able to make an analytical classification of tasks that can be delegated.

Here are certain factors, we must consider while deciding on which tasks to delegate;

• Repetitive tasks : If you are doing a repetitive task that does not add value to your business, you should not be doing it. Say book keeping for example, even though it’s an important aspect of business, it can be delegated to an accountant.
• Once in Blue moon tasks : Getting your office furniture moved, buying a new coffee machine and such. These activities don’t add any value to the business. So instead of wasting time on various quotes for that coffee machine and comparing brands, delegate it.
• Non-Core Business : In the initial stage of the business, an Entrepreneur has to do a lot of ancillary activities that are either not a part of long term plan or only needed to get the ball rolling. Identify these tasks and hand them over to others.
• Les Incompetents : It is very essential to identify early on what you are not good at. There is no harm in accepting that I am not good at a job and delegating it to someone who is.

While there are certain tasks which are a big no when it comes to delegation :

• Vision & Values :  This is what defines a company. Visions and values differentiate you from others. So the strategic planning, activities and process that relate to your values and your vision must never be delegated.
• Brand & Identification : Any entrepreneur will never want to give up control on the brand positioning. You always want to make sure that the world knows you and your work exactly like the way you want it to know. So don’t delegate this.
• Expertise : This is a bit of grey area when it comes to delegation. Being an expert at something it is Human Tendency to never find someone competent enough to do the job as efficiently as you do. This may lead to unnecessary frustration and tension in organization. So don’t delegate till such time that you absolutely need to.
• Passion : If you are passionate about doing something, don’t delegate it. Get some help, get assistants but never handover the job to anyone. An entrepreneur is in the game for the passion in first place. It is this passion that will keep you going, don’t delegate your driving force.

Life of an Entrepreneur is full of adventure. As someone who enjoys all the uncertainties that come along in following your passion, one must never delegate those uncertainties. So while you delegate the authority, be sure you never delegate responsibility.