By now, you’re familiar with the jelly jar analogy. When you fill a jelly jar first with sand, then pebbles, and finally rocks, you find the contents overflow. If you reverse the order in which you add the ingredients to the jar, you discover everything fits with room to spare. The rocks represent the items that take priority in your business, the pebbles things you would like to do to enhance and strengthen it, and the sand those things that simply fill time.

Your business is doing well, but there may still be days when you feel so stuck in the sand that the rocks seem like little more than a mirage in the distance. The thought of handing off some of your responsibilities to others might make you nervous, but doing so is critical if you hope to have time for the big rocks. Delegation does four important things for you and your business.

It helps you to prioritize

When sand obscures your daily vision, it can be difficult to decide which tasks and initiatives are most important for the long-term health and vitality of your business. By handing off responsibilities to members of your team you trust, you begin to more clearly see which items take precedence. You may even find you suddenly have time to strategize, plan and work on your business instead of in it.

It empowers your team members

The members of your team come to your business with varied and valuable skills, strengths, insights and ideas. When you are hidden behind daily responsibilities, you miss rich opportunities to interact with and learn from the very people you entrusted with their roles and the responsibilities. Delegating to your team members allows them to showcase their unique talents and allows you to see how those individuals can grow within the business while helping it to grow and thrive.

It gives you an exit plan

You have invested countless hours and resources in your business, and your hard work and persistence have paid off. One of the most important ways you can ensure the continued success of your investment is to plan your exit. As you think about when and how you will hand over the reins for good, consider how you can begin to hand over your responsibilities now, a bit at a time. Then, when the time comes for you to depart the organization, you can rest assured it is in capable hands.

It sets you free

Once upon a time, your business required most of your time and energy. Now that you have others willing to share the load, you can step back and spend time on things that matter to you personally and professionally. Rather a healthy work-life balance, work-life harmony, according to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, should be your aim. When you delegate to others, this harmony comes naturally as you begin to step out of the whirlwind and reacquaint yourself with the person outside the business.

Could delegation have a greater role in your business? Take this quiz to find out.

• Do you find you spend more time in the office than out in the field?
• Do you have difficulty letting go of responsibilities you have traditionally handled?
• Do you want to see your team members advance within your business?
• Do you think about what your eventual exit from the business will mean for its future?
• Do you want to spend more time doing the things that matter most to you?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, it’s time to make delegation a priority. Visit www.landopt.com to find out how LandOpt can help you, your business and your team to work in greater harmony.