5 Secret Ways For Entrepreneurs To Boost Productivity Via Delegation (#3 Is About Ego…)

Founders often find themselves caught in a plethora of to-do.

To an extent, they skip their lunch or breakfast to pace up till it gets overwhelming to catch up with a lot of happenings day in day out.

This is where disappointment sneaks in, sulking on the ‘could-haves’ and ‘should haves’ while realising that the reality as an entrepreneur turned out quite different the expectations.

The solution to such a situation is delegation. A trustful delegation of responsibility is something that frees the over-active founders not only to filter their time for important stuff but also to achieve an ideal work-life balance. The route to organisational efficiency can only be achieved through delegation.

Here’s how to do it better!

Transferring ownership with accountability

Key towards a systematic delegation is ownership transfer. And that transfer should come with the accountability which invariably brings in responsibility. Start by making explicit formal announcements in the organisation so that everyone knows who is responsible for what. As someone at the helm of affairs, you need to see whether the people support your decision or are there any friction? The key is to avoid any conflict of interest arising out of ownership transfer.

While startups love to operate in a flat hierarchy, there must be at least a hierarchical ownership to start with. This will have one person being responsible for the assigned task so you too would know the accountability of each owner. Best is to start with the task-based leadership to nurture new talent and gradually passing on the ownership. This will push individuals to adapt to responsibilities and make them accountable.

Empower. Recognise. Remunerate. 

Every talent in the organization, regardless of its position need a transition. This is a certain fact especially because of constant change they yearn. I’ve always believed that talent either transit horizontally or vertically. The universal rule to keep employee morale intact is to appreciate the talent and understand that talent needs a transition. 

And for this, you’ll need to empower the talent by recognising their contributions. It shows that you truly value the resources and their efforts while assigning them more responsibility and remunerating them accordingly. Such empowerment ensures retention which in turn improves their faith in the organisation.

Overcoming ego to breed great leaders

The Psychic apparatus defined by Freud talks about Id, ego and super-ego that forms the way how an individual interacts in mental life. Owners have a subtle of ego which may well be associated with id; something that’s inherited from birth. And letting that go may have them sweating their brows because, in order to delegate, you need to create great leaders. 

To let that happen, the ‘I’, as said by Buddha, should die. How is that possible? Skilfully delegating your tasks to someone who could live up to your expectations is the beginning. It’s a long process and that requires battling one day at a time. 

Managing Cultural Change

Any form of delegation reflects a change in culture wherein new leaders emerge. These leaders may even face opposition from members within the team arising conflicts as a way of resisting a cultural change. It’s a double-edged sword for the owners where resolving a conflict is as important as appointing a new leader. Looking for a fine balance between the two may bring out the best for everyone concerned. It all starts with choosing the right people for the right role. Those who are culturally misfit may sink very fast.

Go for those who know where the organisation has come and where it needs to go. Someone who could identify themselves with the company values, working culture and priorities will make a great choice. You may be tempted to put in the smart one at the driving seat but if they are not culturally fit, they may not make up for an ideal choice. Here, you need to pick what is more important to you – the talent or the culture?

Open Door Policy

Key thing to do after you delegate the responsibility is to keep your door open and be accessible for the people who have any queries. While you may think that accountability is an end to your woes, but then you need to stay responsible to your delegation as well. This is why your availability is crucial. While delegating the responsibility is a part of the job done, an efficient planning will require you to sit down and talk to the people to whom you have delegated the tasks. 

Shut and sit after delegating is a dictatorship, democracy is when you remain free and available to help them. The whole idea of delegation is to keep your calendar freer than theirs so that you can nurture the talent in the right direction. 

Final Words…

An ideal approach to delegation is to give it time and not to expect a change, overnight. Tata group is a great example of how to Give time to it – don’t expect an overnight change.  Tata is a great example where key chairman from the family may hold the position (but not necessary) and guide a plethora of industries the philosophy it has nurtured for over 150 years.

About the Author

Shrijay is an entrepreneur with excellent business acumen. With a decade-long experience of working with some of the most disruptive eCommerce startups across the globe, Shrijay believes in team building, customer service, and execution to be the most critical processes for building a sustainable business. He currently leads a LegalTech company: LegalWiz.in which helps Startups and SMEs in India to easily comply with the law. 

LegalWiz.in offers services for private limited company registration, LLP registration, trademark registration, GST return filing, and more. LegalWiz.in makes it simple, affordable and transparent for small businesses to avail business professional services.