Master the Art of Delegating: How Entrepreneurs Can Scale Without Losing Control

Let’s face it, for type-A, high achieving women entrepreneurs, delegating in your business is a nightmare. 😂

Releasing control of the things in your business that got you to where you are today can feel like giving up your success and risking it all crumbling.

When I first brought on my Virtual Assistant, I was so excited for her to help take things off my plate so I could finally feel less overwhelmed!

But it was a lot harder than I thought it would be to get to the point where I could hand things off without worrying about them.

Not because she wasn’t good at her job, but because I was just so used to being the one that had to think about it, plan it, start it, finish it, and remember to not forget about it. Sound familiar? 😂

Which is why I can so deeply relate to my business coaching clients when they work with me to help them scale their business and free up their time, but feel so uncomfortable in the process of actually getting things off their plate.

I want to normalize the discomfort you may be experiencing with delegation.

Delegating isn’t as simple as saying “go do this” and bathing in sunshine and rainbows while the person gets it done perfectly, instantly, on the first try, without you having to give it a second thought.

Delegating takes work.

It takes time and energy to set up processes, to get team what they need, to explain what you want, to provide feedback.

It takes mindset work to believe that it’s worth it, to trust that they’ll do a great job, to ask for what you want, and to get comfortable receiving help (especially when you’re a woman who’s used to doing it all yourself.)

So, if you’re at a point in your business where you want to grow further but your time and energy are maxed out, delegating is the only path forward.

If you want to delegate in your business more but it just feels so damn sticky, here are 4 things I do to feel more comfortable delegating on a daily basis, while freeing up time (but not sacrificing quality or results) in my business.

ONE: I focus on staying connected to the parts that matter

I had a client admit to me that ever since she gave control of her email inbox to her assistant, she felt uneasy –like she no longer had the same pulse on the business that she used to have when she was the one receiving & responding to every email.

When we dug into what exactly feels uneasy, she was able to pinpoint that email communication used to give insight into which clients were up for renewal, when new availability was opening up, who didn’t want to continue and why…

Now that she’s not monitoring every email that comes through, she doesn’t really have a good sense of where her business is at.

That matters. A lot.

As a CEO, knowing what stage clients are at, how much capacity there is in the various offers, how many people are dropping off and for what reasons is important in improving & growing the business further.

But staying in the email inbox is not the solution to getting that information.

By pinpointing the ultimate outcome you want (clear visibility to our capacity for growth & client retention rates), you can actually use your team to support you in getting that without staying stuck in the weeds of the business.

Set up a way to clearly visualize how many clients are up for renewal, how many re-signed, and how many dropped off each month.

Have your team gather that data and bring it to you in a clear report at the end of the month.

And use your time and energy to make decisions about how to use that information to grow and improve the business.

You achieve the outcome of having a pulse on the business & making smart decisions, but you avoid having to spend 40 hours a month in your email inbox!

Imagine that.

Delegating anything in your business (whether it’s your email inbox or your social media account) can feel uncomfortable if you feel that it’s severing your tether to the business. But I encourage you to look at what you’re actually getting from the time consuming activity you want to hold onto, and find ways to get the same end outcome with less of your time and mental energy.

Focus on staying connected to the things that matter (not just the things you’re used to doing).

TWO: I am extremely clear in my expectations

There’s nothing worse (for you or your team) than wanting something done a specific way and expecting them to know that without being told.

Delegating in your business without setting clear expectations sets everyone up for failure.

Which is why when I started delegating out the formatting and scheduling of my blog posts, I documented a step by step checklist with over 25 steps detailing how I do it and how I want it done.

(The whole checklist didn’t even fit in my screenshot 😂)

Not because I’m controlling (although I definitely am) and not because I didn’t trust my VA to do a good job, but because I knew that she is not me and cannot read my mind. And I knew that the way I would feel truly comfortable delegating this is if I was absolutely sure that it would get done the way I wanted it to get done, every time.

Crystal clear expectations (and a documented SOP) are the best way to do that.

You might worry that you’re being too demanding or controlling but in all honesty, your team more than likely thrives with this level of specificity because they know exactly what they need to do and can run with it without overthinking and worrying about whether or not you’ll like it.

The process becomes more efficient, the team is able to do a great job, and you feel more comfortable delegating in the future.

Whatever it is that you’re delegating, share crystal clear expectations with your team. Tell them not only what you want done, but how you want it done, why you want it done that way, and when you want it done by.

You’ll make everyone’s lives easier.

THREE: I am so comfortable giving feedback

Rather than seeing constructive feedback as something that could offend my team or make them not like me or make them not want to work with me…

I see it as the only thing that’s going to help them excel in their role and love what they do.

Delegating is not a ‘take what you can get’ situation.

When your team returns something to you that you aren’t 95% thrilled with (I mean, are we ever 100% happy with anything, really?) you get to go back with feedback on how to improve it.

Seeing that feedback as a way that you’re serving your team member and helping them build competency and confidence is the key to giving it graciously.

The number one thing I see stop entrepreneurs from delegating more is when they “tried to” and it “didn’t work” because the output they got was not what they wanted.

At that moment in time, the worst thing you can do is take that task back over yourself.

The best thing you can do is give feedback on what needs to change and let team keep ownership over getting you a final result you love.

Get comfortable giving feedback and see it as a key part of the delegation process.

When you do, the things you delegate get done better and your team rises to meet your expectations so much faster.

FOUR: I constantly remind myself why I’m delegating in my business & what I get in return

I have to admit, there are still days when I catch myself thinking ‘I’ll just do this myself, it won’t take long.’

But I’ve trained my brain to see that as a red flag for overwork and overwhelm, and to delegate the thing anyway.

Because I know that when I delegate this small thing, what I get in return is being able to focus on the parts of my role that actually fulfill me, freeing up time to move the business forward, and growing a team that can fully support me.

Sometimes we see delegating as having only tradeoffs – such as it taking longer and costing more than just doing it yourself.

But not delegating has bigger tradeoffs: like staying stuck in the weeds of your business forever, never having the mental headspace to think about the bigger picture, and not creating the time to actually grow the business.

Recognize how much you get back in return for delegating, and constantly remind yourself of that.

Delegating in your business takes practice.

For many entrepreneurs it’s a huge growing pain and forces them into the edge of their comfort zone.

Releasing control of your business (even if it gives you more control over your growth), trusting someone else to do as good a job as you (even if they often do it better than you), and finding the time to set your team up for success is hard.

But having standard processes and a team that can execute on them is the foundation of a business that runs like a well oiled machine, and the beginning of your exponential growth.

If you’re a service based entrepreneur that wants to scale your business to the next level, let me help you identify & close the gaps between where you are and where you want to be 12 months from now.

Having supported dozens of entrepreneurs at all levels as a coach, and many more business owners as a consultant, I’d love to be the one that helps you scale your business without burnout and create not just financial success, but fulfilling success™ as a CEO.

Book a discovery call to find out if coaching could help you create exponential growth.