Focus on Your Strengths and Delegate the Rest in 2025
I love it when my husband takes a day off from work. But sometimes he doesn’t tell me he’s doing it.
Why?
He knows that I’m going to leave him a to-do list of a few errands or items around the house that need doing!
For the most part, I’m a delegator. I wouldn’t do very well as a business owner, homeowner or parent if I didn’t rely on others to help me out.
But some things are hard for me to delegate. It’s usually the things I enjoy and prefer to do myself… or things that I’ve entrusted to someone else in the past and it didn’t go so well.
As we all experience life speeding up, though, we all have to get better at delegating. Nothing happens without a team. Even if we think we are doing things on our own, we can probably think of at least one person who made it possible for us to accomplish it:
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We naturally delegate every day, so why is it so hard to delegate certain business responsibilities?
I get it. Sometimes, you have skills that no one else has in your firm. Sometimes, you are so overwhelmed with getting stuff done that you don’t have time to think about delegating. Sometimes, you don’t know what to delegate. Sometimes, other people expect you to be the go-to person.
Make a Small Change in 2025: See What Happens
Consistent delegation requires thoughtful effort. First, I have to make that to-do list. Sometimes, I have to talk my husband through the task so that we’re on the same page about the intended result.
Even with all the preparation, I also have to let go of certain expectations of how I think something should be done. Sometimes, my husband comes up with a better option or result than I would have expected. Collaboration and delegation can lead to better results, not to mention great appreciation for other people!
What else is holding you back? Fear that someone will say no? Fear of being replaced? Fear of losing control?
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Guess what? It will be ok. If it’s not, don’t give up. Try again. Clarify. Train. Talk it through.
Considering your long list of responsibilities at your job or at home, think of at least one thing you want to delegate to someone else. Imagine how you would feel if that item was off your plate. Really, imagine it!
Then think about what is needed for you to delegate that responsibility well. Do you need to write down a process or instructions? Do you need 15 minutes to discuss what it is and the intended benefit or outcome?
Try one small, but important thing. Don’t pick something urgent; that’s too much pressure on the other person. Pick something with a reasonable timeline. Allow for questions. Be patient.
If you need to debrief once the task is complete, don’t talk about how you would have done it differently or better. You want this person or people to help you again! Ask them how they think it went and what they want to know more about for the future. This will guide their skill building to take on more tasks for you.
You Have a Team Member? Congratulations!
If you are fortunate enough to have a marketing assistant or an ambitious associate, help them shine by delegating!
Set them up for success by determining what you can delegate to them. Share your process. Allow them to maximize it. Encourage them to ask questions. Build in enough time on the project for mentoring. Ask them about their goals, and how your delegation can help them build new skills.
If you don’t have time to onboard a new employee, consider outsourcing it to a trusted professional. Here at Ingenuity, we work collaboratively with technical experts and marketing professionals to build processes that support streamlined delegation and accelerated results.
I am happy to have a conversation with you about how to onboard team members or delegate more effectively in 2025. Make it a priority. It will help you. It will help your team. It will help your firm. Let me know how I can help you focus on your strengths and delegate effectively. ?
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Dawn Wagenaar is a brand strategist for professional service firm marketing and the principal of Ingenuity Marketing Group, St. Paul.