by Mike Walter
In speaking to other small business owners (in this industry as well as others), one of the common topics I run across is fear of delegation. (There is no “delegationitis” in the dictionary, perhaps I should coin it.)
The argument usually goes something like this: “no one is going to care as much as me because I’m the owner and so no job that I delegate is going to be done as well as when I do it.”
My answer usually entails some form of the expression: Get Over Yourself. Really. You’re not that special. You don’t have talents and intelligence and passion that sets you apart from every other living creature on this planet. Other people can do what you do. Some could probably even do it better than you.
After that bucket of ice cold water to the face I try to be a little gentler. Yes, as an owner you’re probably going to care more for your business than anyone else you ever hire. Probably.
Find Employees with “The Right Stuff”
Believe me, I have some employees who go so far above and beyond the normal call of duty that you’d think they were owners themselves. People with a work ethic like this are out there. They are not impossible to find.
This logic can be applied to adding DJs to your roster or to hiring help in your office and delegating certain tasks to them. It’s all the same.
You Want Your Company to Grow, Right?
You’ll never grow unless you get over the fear of allowing others to represent you and to perform all but the most menial of tasks for your company. And you want to grow. Don’t you?
The other reality check that most owners need (besides the “you ain’t all that” ice water to the face) is this: YOU CAN’T DO EVERYTHING! No matter how much you care about your business and how much you think you are superhuman, you will eventually sink under too heavy a workload.
You will eventually have things slipping through the cracks — sales calls going unreturned or DJs not fully trained- if you continue to try to do everything yourself.
At some point, an employee (who according to you will not care as much for your business as you do) will do a better job than you simply because they can focus on a specific part of your business while you’re burnt out from worrying about everything and anything.
5 Steps to Task Delegation
Here are some specifics steps to take when delegating any task:
- Choose the right person. Their personality traits, professionalism and learnability will go a long way towards whether they can do the task you’re assigning to them.
- Write down the steps they’ll need to take to perform the task up to your standards.
- Train them thoroughly using this written guide
- Monitor them. Closely at first until you are confident they have really learned how to perform the task, then occasionally as time goes on.
- Always offer praise when the job is done well and constructive criticism when it’s not. Your job is to encourage and empower.
So, if you find yourself bogged down because you just do too much for your business and you’re afraid to give up any control, please, reread that second paragraph again. Get over yourself. And go find someone to delegate to. You’ll be happy you did.
For a plethora of solid multi-op training techniques, check out my DVD set.
Mike Walter – Multi-Op Corner
Mike Walter is a nationally recognized expert in the areas of DJ staff training and multi-system business development.
He is also a writer for Disc Jockey News and Producer of the International DJ Expo’s “DJ of the Year” competition.
Mike is the owner of NJ’s Elite Entertainment, selected by The Knot and Modern Bride magazine as one of the country’s top entertainment companies.
To contact him about his on-site training services or for general inquiries, email [email protected].
