The path of learning many of the trades involves two individuals: the master and the journeyman, or the journeyman and the apprentice etc. In the case of the latter example, the apprentice learns directly from the journeyman through exposure to his work product and direct one-on-one communication and interaction. Many that venture out on their own to create their business enterprise, encounter a hurdle when they realize that once their attention turns to actually running the business, the interactions they were trained with and used to train others do not work as well as they used to when they were in the field.

In the worst cases I have observed, when the “shop” grows to eight to 10 folks the owner’s frustration rises because “things” are not being done the way he or she wants. Eventually, patience runs out and the art of delegation (and it is an art) is abandoned and the owner feels the only way to fix “things” is for them to do it themselves. When this happens, the result is the enterprise that once showed so much promise has now shrunk to the comfort level ratio of one-to-one, or two people.

Putting everything on the line by starting your own business then convincing yourself to let go and delegate is difficult no matter what size your business grows to. When you start delegating limit your expectations to a satisfactory result and resist the urge to micromanage, it is very difficult. I was told or read somewhere that “Everyone works for their own unique reason.” In other words, the people that work with and for you are not you, so don’t expect them to be.

Consider this a rather long-winded introduction to a brief article focusing on a skill that we regularly need to develop and be reminded of in order to reach any level of success, DELEGATION. I hope you enjoy the read.