A key to maximizing the return on your investment of time is to leverage yourself by delegating activities & tasks that do not represent the highest and best use of your time BUT are nevertheless important. Every highly productive Business person understand the importance of leverage and masters this strategy / skill.
What is the most important, precious resource we have? TIME right? It is the same for everyone. It moves on no matter what you do with it. So with the most important & precious resource of time, we all have the same amount, what you do with it is CRITICAL. Every highly productive person understands the importance of time and leverages it to its fullest.
There are many ways to leverage yourself and let’s list 10 of them here for your to implement.
- Focus on your high value activities
- Do what you d best: delegate the rest
- Delegate to a person with demonstrated competence
- Define the task clearly
- Set deadlines
- Establish benchmarks
- Agree on resources
- Agree on consequences
- Put it in writing
- Inspect what you expect
There are four key points you the delegator needs to keep in mind when delegating. They are:
Use your common sense in determine how to apply these 10 methods on a case by case basis.
The degree of competence & experience of the person to whom you are delegating too is critically important (more on this later)
Avoid the trap of depriving yourself of delegation because you “Have no one ready” by considering outsourcing to contractors while you build internally.
If this all seems more trouble that it is worth, GIVE IT A TRY. Like any other skill, effective delegation takes time to master and see the results of more time, more control and more effectiveness in your business.
By Mark R. Steinke, Focal Point Business Coaching of Pennsylvania
Elite Business Coach / Owner
1.610.768.7774