What’s the most important thing you need to do as a leader? Cast vision? Build up a talented team? Keep your sales funnel full?

All those are essential, but there’s one thing that takes precedence over them all. It’s the “D” word – delegate.

You may not be comfortable with it at first, but it’s one of the most important things you’ll need to do. If you’re going to lead a successful organization, you’ll need to be completely comfortable with delegation. It’s never going to go away, and as a leader you’re constantly going to be identifying what needs to be done. The sooner you get comfortable and confident in delegating tasks, the sooner you’ll start seeing increased productivity and results in your organization.

If you’re struggling with figuring out where and how to delegate tasks, there are a few simple steps you can take:

• Build a “must-should-could” list. Grab a pen or your keyboard and write down everything that’s on your mental task list, and break that list down into separate lists of what you must do, things you should do, and things that could be done by someone else. Getting all those things out of your brain and into a list will already have you on the road to clarity. 
• Enter the “Delegation Matrix.” Divide your page into four quadrants. The first quadrant are the things you love that only you can do – things like outlining the strategy for your organization’s growth, connecting with new business prospects and other leaders, or creating new products or services. This is where you need to live as a leader. These tasks are the reasons your business exists, the things that will make you money and make your business shine.

  The second quadrant is where lots of leaders struggle – the things you love doing, but that you could pass off to others. You may love tracking down a great deal on your next business flight, but someone else on your team could easily do that, and give you back those hours. This is a perfect place for you to lead, coach and develop others on your team into being just as great at these things as you are. And since your team will see how much you love doing these things, your excitement and passion will inspire them to achieve outstanding results with these tasks as well.

  Quadrant three are the things you’re doing that absolutely drain you – things you’re constantly putting off and know you should do, but just don’t want to. Things like invoicing, bookkeeping activities, legal work or research, project management, or any activity that you just dread go in this space. Get those things off your plate and delegated to someone who actually likes doing them.

  The final quadrant should be your first target for getting tasks off your plate – things you don’t like to do that someone else can easily do for you, even without much knowledge of your businesses. If you’re spending any time on these tasks currently, get them offloaded to someone else you trust as soon as possible.

• Prioritize tasks for your team. Let your team members know what needs to be done and what can be put on the backburner for a later date.
• Whenever you’re delegating a task, make sure your team members understand the “why” behind the “what” you’re asking them to do. Make sure your team understands why you’re handing a task or project to them, the impact it will have on your team and business, and what your expectations are around completing that project. Make sure they know the due dates, and that they’re accountable and empowered to get the project done.

By mastering the art of delegation, you’ll see your personal productivity and organizational success dramatically increase. Not only that, you’ll see your team members grow and thrive as they become more empowered to help you take your organization further.

Bryan Miles CEO of eaHELP.