How to delegate important decisions in your business?

Even though there are many things on your responsibility list, you probably like feeling important, right? But being busy doesn't make you important, in fact it diverts you from leading the real show.

Here, I will lead you through the process of delegating decisions especially if you are doing this systematically for the first time. There are four main steps and some important concepts to be accepted.

First, determine what are all the levels at which decisions are being made.

Second, determine cost of each decision for every level.

Third, paint the context for each decision so it can be made easily.

Forth, stop micromanaging and let the system run, do not stand in your way.

This is how I see it.

This is you, one man show, until you realise that is not the show set for the kind of success you want.

Moral of the story: Having the whole orchestra play your notes is way more powerful than you learning to play all instruments.

One man show

It is normal that the owner will make most of decisions at the beginning. When you found the company, start running a small hotel, everything starts and ends with you. As the company grows, there is more things to think about, more processes to control and the team gets bigger. You can not do everything by yourself anymore and you need to start sharing the responsibility.

Most owners ether find themselves micromanaging their employees or even feeling not included and overwhelmed with the new levels of organisation and integration that suddenly becomes more complex. Most companies endure somehow running on everything previously set and pushing it to its limits for a couple of years, three the most as seen in practice, until everything collides.

Foundations you have built are great, but they must be further developed and important decisions are about to be made. Otherwise, the chaos is eminent, success is just an illusion and you are being tricked into a hamster wheel, non stop effort but going nowhere. Start delegating. Sort the important from unimportant.

The most critical period in a perspective hospitality business is going from childhood to maturity stage. This transformation is when you gather everything that is scattered around and make a successful system that is able to scale and sustain. This is how you ensure to keep enjoying your business, while it makes profit for you and provides values for customers.

First, determine levels of decisions.

Depending on how your system of systems looks like, you will have different levels of importance for decision making processes. Draw a structure of your company or simply take an organisational chart if you have one. If you don't, it is high time you made one. Segregate visually managerial and operational levels. Understand which positions have direct contact with customers and which do not, which positions direct the company's future because of potential nature of the decision and which influence it on micro level.

Identify processes and for each process, write a responsible role and executive roles. Now, identify decisions each role can make. Do similar values of decisions appear to be at the same organisational levels? Does executive role's decision include lower level decision in its higher vision? Are lower level decisions according to the higher level ones? If this all folds logically then you have your levels all neat and clear.

Think about decisions on a highest levels and which ones you would like to be made exclusively with your permission. Decide that only managerial top can determine new directions of your business and make decisions of crucial and core value to your business.

Note: Risks and opportunities are to be discussed and decided separately by the managerial top but maintain close relation with lower levels and people from operations. Plan regular meetings and follow ups with them. Make sure their suggestions are well heard since their perspectives bring great value directly from working with guests. They are often the ones to first feel the need for new processes, protocols and fresh ideas.

These meetings will develop a great habit to constantly balance the written “know-hows” and creative free style performance. Read blog post on how to train employees for working in a high-end hotel, here, and understand why this balance between having procedures, programmed work and step by step process AND keeping it fun, encouraging creativity and introducing the changes is of a great importance.

Second, determine cost of each decision.

Look at the levels of decisions you identified in the organisational chart and write down by the side of every decision, its financial limit for which you can let that role be accountable. This means that person on that role will not have to ask you for approval of the decision if the cost of the wrong decision is less than the limit you set here.

This will significantly decrease need to communicate and discuss small decisions, give you more time and leave you with more energy. Don't be worried that this system can hurt your business. When your business is growing and you are committed to making it successful, the cost of the wrong decision is much lower than the cost of your energy, intentional and inspired actions and time to strategically lead.

Note: If someone still tries to contact you, make this attempt of theirs standardised and easy to handle in advance. Instruct them to write short and to the point emails, following the structure like this one:

• state what is the situation;

• state what is difficult about this situation;

• define question.

However, do understand that this is applicable only when you are determined to putting an effort for things that really matter and give up on situations that seam to be important while just busting your ego and eating your time.

Third, ensure certainty.

Despite having the cost of the wrong decision specified and approval to think with their own head as long as they stay in that margin, some people will still be reluctant and will need time to get used to it.

Train your employees to question their decisions and search for different perspectives in order to keep getting better in decision making. Give them good examples and provide them with a mentor until they are ready to be accountable.

This is exactly why you need to make it easy for them to be able to make decision that you would make. They need to be thinking about how you would act. You need them to have the right mindset for the position they are at and to understand the wider picture. Paint it for them. Read blog on how to train employees for working in a high-end hotel, here.

You need to make sure they understand the standards and good practices, the values and the mission, the current goals for the year etc. Learn them to estimate if the decision is according to these.

Note: If there are too many new decisions being made for similar situations that keep appearing but haven't been identified in advance, you need to make it a new standard or guidance. Whenever new patterns are showing up, they should be decided once and then reimplemented.

Forth and do NOT let it scare you, remove the owner as an obstacle.

You do not want to be the weakest part of your company, you want to be the wisest one, the mastermind.

The mastermind is not being asked for every decision, they do not necessarily even lead. They observe, direct, revise big numbers and trends, create new directions, risk and enjoy. You want to be able to go to vacation and not be busy all the time by taking every single decision overtaken by the fear that no one can do it better than you.

You want to go on vacation confident that everything is going on just as it should.

Remember, you are not important because you are busy.

You are busy because you are not organised.

Don't let be deceived.

Delegate intentionally and do only the things no one else can do better than you instead. The ones you enjoy, love and that are easy for you.

Be the one who writes the melody for an astonishing performance. Then let others perform while you watch. You have the power to change the direction, tweak the vision and make it magnificent.

I invite you to share your business wisdom! Tell us, what are the decisions that inspire you and which ones drain your energy? Comment bellow.

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