Blog
The Art of Delegation
Definition of Delegation:
Verb – Entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself: “he delegates routine tasks”.
Source: Google
Many of our readers run small businesses but do they run them effectively? Do you run your small business like a large multi-national? I’m thinking here that the Managing Director of a large company wouldn’t handle all of these tasks: HR, Administration, Marketing, Sales and Business Development but would focus on his core skills and delegate the rest.
This business principle can be applied to smaller companies as well. Why struggle with sending mail-shots or proofing documents when these things can be delegated to someone who can do these efficiently? Thus leaving the Managing Director to sell or develop his product.
It not only improves your reputation as a manager (demonstrates trust within others) but provides development opportunities for your team.
First you need to decide on what you can delegate. You could make a list of your tasks putting them into one of three columns:
- outsource/delegate
- core role responsibilities
- unsure
The tasks and duties that you can easily handover should be the start of your delegation (these can be things like uploading documentation, changing formats, extracts or inputting data etc) and put in column 1.
Then analyse what you were hired to do (or what you set your business up to do) – these core activities should be the things that you hold onto (i.e. put in column 2).
The tasks that end up in the unsure column could be handed over eventually but you will need to understand the skills of the person you are entrusting with these duties.
You need to invest effort up front when delegating but over time you will see the benefits when you save time and can focus on the more important aspects of your role.
At Red Desk, we provide Business Support to local busy executives who have delegated some tasks to us. We can handle ad-hoc requests, project-based work or regular tasks.
In short, don’t be a martyr and do everything yourself. Remember, surround yourself with smart people!
If you need any help then you can contact me on:
Find me on Twitter @reddeskVA
Find me on Facebook Red Desk VA
Rebranding your Business
The keen eyed amongst you will have noticed that we have recently rebranded. We’ve rejuvenated our logo & totally rebuilt our website (do take a look www.reddesk.co.uk).
We have had brilliant help from Tracey Goodland at ‘Design is Goodland’ (www.designisgoodland.com). I think that would be the best piece of advice I could give anyone wanting to rebrand, find a good graphic designer. Being able to define your company in a nutshell is a difficult thing to do and you need a professional to do it properly. For me one of the successes of our rebranding (I hope you agree) is the clean & refreshed look of our new logo, without changing it beyond recognition. It still holds the essence of what we had before but looks so much better.
I asked Tracey about the importance of a brand logo:
‘Your logo is a key part of your brand. It should reflect the good qualities of your business and be memorable and unique. Your customers will form an association with your logo. A good logo will become a stamp of quality and trustworthiness in the services you offer’.
The logo is obviously only a small part of your brand but a good graphic designer can then carry that look through making sure it’s used consistently across all your social media, website, advertising & stationery. This consistency creates a professional look to current clients and creates familiarity and confidence in potential customers.
As small business owners we don’t have huge amounts of money to spend on rebranding but there is no need for it to cost a fortune. If you really know your business and have genuine passion for what you do then actually trying to portray that to your customers should be a constructive and energising process. People run small businesses because they want to do the work they enjoy doing and you just need to show that in your branding.
It amazes me how quickly a brand can look dated, it’s easy not to look at your company’s image with fresh eyes when you’re working so hard, but I can say that giving your brand a new look and feel can really inspire you as a business owner and hopefully lead to a more successful business.
If you need any help then you can contact me on:
Find me on Twitter @reddeskVA
Find me on Facebook Red Desk VA
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.