DELEGATION: Do You Want Control Or Better Results? - Tips for Letting Go and Freeing Up Your Time

What’s the Problem?

The problem is not that we have too much to do.  The problem is that we’re trying to do it all. 

Our time and energy are limited.  When we’re unwilling to delegate, then some things in our practice aren’t getting done well - and other things aren’t getting done at all.  And without adequate delegation, we’re going to feel frustrated and overwhelmed.

Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves this question:  Do I want to keep control, or do I want better results?  Take your pick.  You can’t have both.  

For effective delegation to occur then, we need two things:

1. WE have to be willing to trust them (that’s on you). But just as important,
2. THEY have to be trust-worthy.

So how do they become trustworthy if they’re not already?  Over time, we must gradually give them more responsibility with less supervision. Just as we may have taught them chairside assisting, bring them along at a pace that stretches them while simultaneously feeling successful.  

And when they don’t do it the way we thought they should (and they will), let them know it’s ok to make mistakes in our office.  (Only see it as an opportunity to learn and grow).  Then don’t give up.  Just like the chairside assisting example, be patient and teach them how to do it better next time. 

Where to begin

Feeling overwhelmed about what you should delegate first?  BEGIN SMALL!

Start by identifying the “little things” that you do every day that rob you of time to do the more important things.  

You might think, “Oh it’s just a “little” thing.  I don’t mind doing it.” 

But remember, if you do a “little” 15-minute thing every day at the office, you’re spending one hour per week doing it, which translates into a full 40-hour work week over the year!    Would you still do it if it meant sitting down for 8 hours a day for 6 days in a row?  Probably not.  

That 15-minute “little” thing is costing you.  Add up all the “little” things you’re doing, and you can see why you don’t have enough time to do the big things.

There was a time before we went digital that I would spend 15 minutes at the end of each day making sure I had all the charts, radiographs and models of the records taken that day, so I could treatment plan the cases.  I thought -this is annoying.  Eventually, I asked one of my assistants to be responsible to gather the charts, make sure the radiographs were included, box the models, rubber band the charts and place them on my desk before they left each evening.

Sweet!  Grab and go.  I just got back 40 hours of my life.

So, here’s my unsolicited advice: Feeling overwhelmed?  Begin small. It’s usually easy to delegate all the “little” stuff!  Then go and be with your family, or work on a neglected practice project, or binge watch Netflix. 

It’s your choice.

Delegating the Big Stuff

That may be fine for the Little Stuff, but what about all the Big Stuff?

Let me ask you.  Do you like spending all that time doing payroll, ordering supplies, and managing your practice?  Wouldn’t you rather be spending time with your family, hanging out with friends, or catching up on Stranger Things?   

Sure you would, but who has time to turn all this stuff over to the staff?  And where do you even begin?

Well, if you’re fed up spending your “days off” actually working, here are the steps to delegating all the big time-consuming stuff you do each week: 

1. Documentation – As you do one of those mind-numbing tasks, write down all the steps you’re taking in enough detail so that someone else could follow along. You can’t manage a process that you can’t clearly see.
2. Elimination – Look critically at each step to see if any of them can be eliminated or condensed.  Maybe 5 steps can become 3 steps.  New technology can often simply things.  Anyone who has uploaded photos using Wi-Fi has seen this. Sometimes the way it’s always been done, is not the way it should be done.
3. Automation - Determine whether any of the steps be automated or out-sourced. Often as the practice grows, the size of the job gets expands as the time available shrinks.  Early in our practice, I used to spend hours doing the payroll, calculating the deduction, paying the quarterly taxes.  For $100 every two weeks, ADP will do all that for me. It’s a deal!
4. Delegation – Don’t feel you have to give it up all at once.  Take each step in the process and see if someone can save you time by doing a part of it.  Eventually, you may find as they get comfortable & competent with some of the pieces, they can take on more of the whole.
5. Systemization – Finally, when you’ve established the new way of getting it done, document the process.  Who does what and how & when do they do it? By writing it all down, this new system becomes the training manual for someone new taking over or to train a backup in case your “go to” person is out.

Start today! There’s no reason to plod along, day after day, week after week, thinking it’s our lot in life.  Continue to trust your staff and delegate more.  All that time-sucking practice management stuff may need to get done, but YOU don’t need to do it.  

It makes for a lousy weekend hobby.