Do you ever find yourself vibrating with excitement when you start a new project only to start fading as it nears completion?  Do you love the thrill of a new, possibly difficult endeavor only to find yourself losing steam half way through?  Is it post-elation procrastination or maybe you truly enjoy the thrill of a challenge and when it does not appear to be so challenging anymore, you lose interest?

Many successful entrepreneurs and business owners are the classic A-type personalities that live for the buzz of “newness”.  It's that drive you get when you know you are creating something fabulous but as you approach the finish line; you, quite frankly, get bored.  Yup, bored.

How can that be?  Many people would find this a conflict in terms partly because business owners are viewed as an over achieving species with endless, borderless energy and drive.  How can they get bored?  How can they possibly lose interest?

Guess what? It happens!

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to determine if you may be on a New-Thrill-Buzz-Kill journey:

• Do you thrive on startups?
  
• Are new projects thrilling and getting your endorphins going?
• As an impending deadline approaches, do you dread the end?
• Are you handing off the lose ends near the deadline in order to look for the next thrill?  Potentially taking your eyes off the goal/end result?
• Do your response times dwindle/slow down near the ends of projects?
• Are you at your professional best at the planning stages?
• Are you at your professional worst closer to deadlines?

Everybody is good at something...and possibly not-so-good at others.

Non-entrepreneurs and self employed individuals look for jobs that highlight or match their strengths, not their weaknesses. Entrepreneurs. however, turn passions and strengths into businesses that potentially burden them with many tasks beyond their given areas of expertise. Entrepreneurs may feel like they need to do it all (especially during start-up phase), but it is critical to recognize your own strengths and shortcomings and fine tuning them to your advantage.

This means:

• Determine where you are best utilized within your company
  
• Admit your weaknesses and faults (and hire accordingly!)
• Allow others to carry the details that tie you down (and possibly are your buzz kill!)
• Give yourself permission to keep the tasks you love but do not become so far removed from the other mundane tasks that you are no longer part of the core
• Know when it is time to take non-core tasks and hand them to capable employees
• Take the time to ensure the employees you are handing off to are well trained
• Enjoy yourself!  Being self-employed has so many blessings!  Take the time to appreciate where you are and how far you have come!

Growing, learning and improving are details that come fairly natural for most business owners, however, there comes a time when we become so engrossed in our day-to-day operations that we become blind to certain areas.

If you have been blessed with an uber fast growing business (like I was with my baby stores), you can easily become either superb at delegating daily tasks and activities or sadly drowning in the details.

Delegation:
The wikipedia definition of delegating is "the handing of a task from a superior to a subordinate, however the person who delegated the work remains accountable for the outcome of the delegated work."

1. One point that is often forgotten in the bustle of business; that the delegation is not only about handing off jobs and managing your own time effectively; it is also about empowering the "delegee"; the staff you have entrusted this task to.  It gives them on opportunity to grow and learn as well. 
2. As a giver of delegated tasks you must ensure the delegated project task happens correctly. Just as significantly, as the recipient of the delegation, they have the opportunity to 'move  upwards'.  It is their opportunity to shine and offer suggestions to the project at hand.  Especially if they know their boss or manager is overburdened and really needs the insight and assistance.
3. Delegation isn't just a matter of passing off the unpleasant tasks or dictating to someone else. There is a vast distance in the levels of  freedom that you can offer to the employee. The more reliable and competent the other person is; the more freedom you can offer. The more sensitive or serious the task; the more cautious you need to be about delegation freedom, especially if your project or reputation demands a good result. Each situation will demand varying levels of delegation freedom.   There is a big difference between the delegation statements, "Do this exactly as I say"  and the partnered approach of "Look into this, bring me the details and we'll decide together" and the final, full freedom of "Look into this, formulate your plan and take action on my behalf".
4. It's always important to ask the employee what they feel comfortable being given the task.   Some people are confident; others, perhaps not.   It's your responsibility to determine what the terms of the delegation are; in order to ensure a  job is done effectively and with minimal supervision from you. By Involving the employee in the agreement process,  the level of delegated freedom can be clarified on both sides, goals can be set; and their is no room for ambiguity or miscommunication.
5. I created my own version of an acronym for delegation projects.  TREAD OFF or as my assistant pointed, it could be FORT DEAF or  (lol).  Send me your other word scrambles for it as we have played with it long enough!

          
         Task Definition

         Resources Required - to complete the task

        Expectations For results - from all involved

        Appoint the designated individual

        Deadlines clarified -by all parties

        Offer guidleines, resources, assistance

       Follow progress (utlimately YOU are responsible)

       Feedback on Results

        
Be creative in choosing levels of delegated responsibility, and always check with the other person that they are comfortable with your designated level. Your staff are generally MORE capable than you expected!