Thanks for your comment. We are unsure why the feed is not working in google reader, it seems to be working for us. You could try the following link as an alternative however, good luck! http://feeds.feedburner.com/RobynPearce?format=xml

We had an email comment from Donna in Ontario, Canada. Donna commented that delegtaion is critical and noted that many entrepreneurs who have always “done it themselves” find it hard to let go.

Donna was also kind enough to remind us that in our pursuit of better delegation skills we should use leverage a little more. Leverage is all about tapping into the skills of others around you. Just think of who you know, and who they know – and you might find you also have plenty of leverage. Donna herself has written a really interesting article on this topic, and we are just waiting for the electronic link to come through – expect it soon!

Henry Ford said something like “I would rather have 1% of the work of 100 people, than 100% of the work of one person” I couldn’t agree more!

Well, as grateful as I am to work with somebody who understands the importance of work/life balance, we can’t all be out sailing at once. Back to work for me!

It’s great to hear from you. I am so familiar with the comment you have made. (Some of the comments below may be similar to some of the discussions we have had face to face, but will make my response general enough to be of value to others as well).

Sometimes it is the most capable people who find it the hardest to delegate! However, I promise you that the benefits of loosening your grip on parts of the workload will enable you to GET a grip on the wider responsibilities of your role!

For a start why don’t you try this: every time a piece of work comes to your desk ask yourself “is there someone else that can do this so I can get on with more meaningful tasks?”. If the job is something that stops you from getting on with those more meaningful things but there is nobody to give the lesser stuff to, then you need to look at upskilling someone around you who CAN take on that work in the future.

For a broader approach, take a look at the people around you and start to think about whole work streams you can delegate to them. So rather than a small piece of individual work here and there, there may well be a whole area or file you can oversee someone else working on. You will free up more time for yourself and also empower those you work with by entrusting them with things you normally try and do yourself!

I am positive that you will reap the benefits of delegating… you can always go back to dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s if it doesn’t work out. But I bet you won’t!

p.s it sounds like your PA is already on board