7 Powerful Delegation Strategies for the CEO Optometrist

As the CEO of your optometry practice, your focus should be on leading your team and developing strategies to boost productivity and profit. Delegation is key to unlocking your full potential. It not only maximizes your efficiency but also keeps you sane while juggling the responsibilities of running a practice.

More importantly, delegation empowers your team to actively contribute to the growth of your practice. As former General Electric CEO Jack Welch once said, “Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” Trying to do everything yourself not only limits your practice’s potential but also dampens team morale, as your staff might feel underutilized.

If you want your practice to thrive, learning to delegate is essential. However, many CEO Optometrists find delegation challenging—they either don’t know how to do it effectively or feel hesitant to hand off tasks unless absolutely necessary.

The good news is that delegation is a skill that can be learned and refined. Recently, I came across a fantastic article on Inc.com that outlines seven delegation strategies designed to increase efficiency. I’ve adapted these strategies for the CEO Optometrist. If you implement them, you’ll not only see improvements in efficiency but also foster a happier, more empowered team.

1. Learn to Let Go

One of the biggest challenges for CEO Optometrists is letting go of non-revenue-generating work. You might feel that you’re the only one who can do the job correctly, or you may worry that delegating could lead to mistakes. But clinging to every task isn’t sustainable, and it certainly won’t help your practice grow.

The first step to effective delegation is learning to let go. As leadership expert John C. Maxwell puts it, “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” Start small by delegating simpler tasks and gradually increase the level of responsibility you pass on to your team. Building trust over time is essential.

Letting go is not just an act of relief for yourself; it’s also an investment in your practice’s success.

2. Establish a Firm Priority System

When starting the delegation process, it’s critical to establish a priority system for tasks. Prioritization helps you decide what needs your direct attention and what can be handed off. Every practice will have its own system, but one strategy is to categorize tasks based on effort required and skill level.

For example, low-skill, high-effort tasks—such as managing your optical frame inventory—can easily be assigned to team members. As Richard Branson says, “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing and by falling over.” Delegating tasks gives your staff the chance to “learn by doing” and develop their skills. Meanwhile, you’ll be freed up to focus on the high-level tasks that only you can handle.

Creating an organizational chart to clearly outline which tasks belong to which staff members can help ensure that your priority system is effectively implemented. For example, tasks like marketing strategies or practice financials are high-skill and should stay on your plate, while lower-skill, time-consuming jobs, like administrative duties, should be delegated.

3. Play to Your Team’s Strengths

Effective delegation is not just about offloading tasks; it’s about matching the right task to the right person. As a leader, it’s essential to understand the unique strengths and weaknesses of your team members.

Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, once said, “The task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths in ways that make a system’s weaknesses irrelevant.” Instead of assigning tasks based on who has the lightest workload, assign them to the person best suited for the task. Delegating based on each team member’s skills allows for greater efficiency and fosters confidence in their abilities.

When you play to your workers’ strengths, you also create opportunities for growth. Consistently assigning similar types of tasks to individuals will help them develop expertise in those areas, further enhancing your practice’s performance.

4. Provide Clear Instructions

Clear communication is crucial when delegating tasks. Even if a task seems simple or obvious to you, include step-by-step instructions to ensure it’s executed properly. As communication expert George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

When you provide specific, detailed instructions—especially for tasks that have certain preferences or deadlines—you minimize the chances of miscommunication. This approach not only ensures the task is done right the first time but also builds trust in your leadership. Over time, your team will become more independent, and the need for such detailed instructions will decrease as their confidence grows.

5. Teach New Skills When Necessary

Sometimes, you might not have anyone on your team with the exact skill set needed to complete a task. This doesn’t mean the task can’t be delegated—it just means you’ll need to invest time in teaching new skills.

Think of it as an investment in the future. Initially, training someone will take more time than doing the task yourself, but in the long run, it pays off. Delegating is about building capacity in your team. As Steve Jobs once said, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

When you teach a team member new skills, you’re not only empowering them to contribute more but also freeing yourself to focus on the bigger picture of your practice.

6. Trust, But Verify

Once you delegate a task, trust your employee to get the job done, but don’t be afraid to check in on the progress. By trusting your staff, you give them the freedom to solve problems in their own way. As Ronald Reagan famously said, “Trust, but verify.”

Check-in periodically to ensure the task is on track, especially as deadlines approach. A simple status update or email is often all that’s needed. This not only provides reassurance but also gives you a chance to course-correct if necessary. Remember, checking in shows that you care about the outcome, not that you’re micromanaging.

7. Use Feedback Loops to Improve

Feedback is an essential part of effective delegation, and it works both ways. When a team member does a good job, recognize it. As Winston Churchill said, “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” Offering constructive feedback when necessary is just as important as providing praise for a job well done.

Invite your team to give you feedback on your delegation style. This open dialogue helps you gauge whether you’re providing enough information or assigning the right tasks to the right people. In our office, we use team surveys to review our delegation process, and this feedback has significantly improved our efficiency and morale.

Are You Ready to Thrive?

Delegation isn’t just about offloading work—it’s about empowering your team, building trust, and positioning your practice for long-term success. While it may feel daunting at first, mastering the art of delegation will transform your practice and create a more empowered, capable team.

Feeling overwhelmed with your workload? You don’t have to go it alone. There’s a smarter way to manage your practice and unlock the unlimited opportunities available as a private practice owner. You can have both—passion for your work and a profitable practice!

Our CEO of YOU™ consulting program is designed to help you delegate more effectively, improve team productivity, and elevate your practice to new heights. You don’t have to figure this out on your own—we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Ready to take your practice to the next level? Sign up today for the CEO of YOU™ consulting program and start leading with confidence.