How to Delegate to your Virtual Assistant – Part 2

In part two of this series, we’ll show you how to delegate to your Virtual Assistant in a way that makes sense – and makes your life easier.  

8 solutions: How to make delegation easier

If you’re new to delegation—or it’s not your favorite thing—that’s OK; we can help!  Here are potential solutions to 8 common problems in delegation, including the common excuses listed at the beginning.

1. 1. 1. If you don’t have someone to do the work: Consider hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA). 
      2. If your clients expect you to do it all yourself: That’s a challenge, especially when your VA doesn’t have the background knowledge of the relationship.  You can eventually delegate clients to your VA. It takes time, so the sooner you start, the sooner you can get things off your plate.
      3. If you still don’t trust others to do the work: Ask yourself whether this is about competence or about something deeper that’s specific to you. If your VA is competent and trustworthy, try to work through any specific issues you may have.
      4. If you don’t want to make time to delegate: Your VA can’t magically read your mind.  You need to explain what you’re trying to accomplish. (If it’s a matter of not wanting to type up the request, you can delegate via phone call or in-person conversation. If you do that, we recommend having the delegate recap the assignment to you, to ensure they understand it correctly. And an interim check-in is especially important.)
      5. If you don’t have time to delegate the work: Recognize that delegation always takes more time the first time; then you start seeing significant efficiencies. The second time, you might answer a couple questions. The third time, you might recommend a couple tweaks. After that, you might not need to answer questions or review things at all. Imagine the time you’ll have saved the 20th or 100th time your VA did what you used to do!
      6. If you have trouble communicating the steps to follow: Don’t focus on the steps, focus on the outcome you want, and on providing access your VA needs.  (For instance, you can’t say, “Figure it out” if they don’t have a login to the system.) Usually, the delegate can figure out the steps or ask you for help when they get stuck.
      7. If you like doing certain things yourself: That’s fine; you can keep doing them. But be clear with yourself that you’re making a tradeoff that may cause problems elsewhere.
      8. If you don’t have PM software to make this easier: Get the process down first; you don’t want to automate a bad process. Then, review this list of PM software for companies. There’s likely something in the list that’ll be a fit for you. 

If you’re on the fence, know that delegation pays off.  It frees you to do higher-value work as you discover how to delegate to your Virtual Assistant and more effectively run your company.

Where do you get stuck when it comes to delegation at your company?

Aim2Assist is here at your service when you want to free up time. You can learn more about our services and monthly plans here.