Startups typically struggle with multiple events in the early days, with their founders being their primary source of strength. However, as startups grow, founders need to learn to delegate effectively, especially when working with distant teams.
Effective delegation translates into empowering team members and maintaining productivity—difficult goals to achieve. Nevertheless, there are many approaches to consider in this context, and here we’ll consider the most vital elements.
Why Delegation is Important
Delegation is a fundamental management skill. Surprisingly, many startup founders struggle with it. Usually, it’s because they don’t want to delegate because they need to maintain control. Sometimes, there’s even a lack of trust that needs to be addressed.
However, this sort of approach leads to burnout and can permanently hinder a startup’s development.
The belief that doing all the things yourself is the right way to go is simply not true. First, when founders delegate, they will focus on strategic decisions slightly than day-to-day tasks. Delegation also encourages skilled development in teams and increases their morale and productivity.
This is crucial for distant teams, which might often feel undervalued. In reality, the biggest hurdle in managing distant teams is building a cohesive startup culture. Delegation might help a lot in this regard.
However, effective delegation should go beyond simply assigning tasks. In fact, it should take into account the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and provide the crucial resources and support to bring out the best in the team.
Delegation, if effective, might help create a more dynamic, agile and scalable business model.
Building Trust in Remote Teams
Without each day face-to-face interactions, distant teams must rely on trust to function properly. For startup founders, building and maintaining trust is subsequently crucial.
One of the first steps in building trust is clear communication. Founders should establish regular channels of communication and be open about their expectations and goals, and make sure to provide regular feedback. Digital tools like Slack, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams can enhance real-time communication and help bridge the physical distance between team members.
Next, startup founders need to truly imagine in the team’s abilities. They should resist the temptation to micromanage and as a substitute give team members the autonomy they need to do their jobs efficiently.
It’s equally vital to recognize and have a good time team successes. Founders who recognize accomplishments—big and small—are more successful at building a supportive, motivated culture.
Setting clear expectations and goals
One of the biggest challenges in delegating to distant teams is ensuring that everybody is on the same page. Clear expectations and goals are essential to ensure tasks are accomplished to the required standards.
Startup founders should start by clearly defining the goals of each task. This includes defining desired outcomes, deadlines, and any specific requirements. Detailed briefings will be very helpful in this regard.
In addition, it is extremely vital for founders to schedule regular meetings to be certain that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities. During the meetings, they need to provide clarification and listen to the team’s feedback.
Founders also needs to offer constructive feedback on team performance. This practice helps team members understand what they are doing well and what they need to improve.
Supporting distant teams
It is not any philosophy that reinforced teams are more motivated and resilient. That’s why startup founders should focus on ensuring distant teams have access to the tools and training they need to succeed.
In addition, personal guidance and support needs to be available, but not coupled with micromanagement. Instead, founders should foster a culture of autonomy and trust. This is best done by delegating decision-making authority in addition to tasks. In other words, empowering team members to take ownership of their work is the fastest way to empower them.
However, because startups are a specific entity, empowerment needs to be presented in a collaborative environment. Remote work tends to create a sense of isolation, so it is vital to create opportunities for collaboration and teamwork.
There are many ways to do this, but some of the most typical include virtual brainstorming sessions, group projects, and regular team meetings.
Implementing technology for effective delegation
It is clear that distant teams are more dependent on recent technologies than office staff. Effective delegation relies heavily on improved communication and project management, but there is a clear need to add collaboration tools to this set.
Therefore, business founders should select the best tools and provide appropriate training on how to use them.
Overcoming the Challenges of Remote Delegation
Delegating to distant teams comes with its own set of challenges. These can include communication barriers, cultural differences, and lack of face-to-face interaction.
Communication barriers are a common occurrence. Namely, without the good thing about in-person interaction, messages will be misinterpreted. That’s why some founders prefer video calls for vital discussions, but there are other solutions. It’s vital to listen to the opinions of team members to select the right approach.
Cultural differences are one other potential issue distant teams can face. People from different cultural backgrounds may have different expectations and work styles that founders need to understand in order to delegate effectively.
Finally, the lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection. This problem is often solved by creating team-building opportunities and virtual social events.
In general, there are many aspects that affect effective delegation in the context of distant teams. Startup founders need to be versatile, open-minded, and avoid micromanagement. It is also at all times advisable to listen to the opinions of team members, so mix these elements to find the best solution.