How to Delegate as a Martial Arts School Owner

As the holiday season is fast approaching, there will be a lot of tasks to be done to ensure your martial arts school runs smoothly and provides the best customer service to your students as possible. As school owners, we find ourselves trying not to spread ourselves too thin but still trying to accomplish all the tasks that need to get done before the end of the year. The truth is… We can’t do it all alone.

One of the definitions of management is "the ability to get things done through the efforts of others."

However one of the most important leadership lessons to be learned is, whenever it is possible, it is better to use influence rather than authority.  As you look for help in accomplishing these tasks, the jobs you delegate to your martial arts school team will be undertaken much more effectively if you, as the leader, are managing in a team-building way rather than in an authoritative way. This is perhaps the single biggest challenge you will address on a regular basis when interacting with your staff on and off the mat.

Let’s cover some basic steps that will help you delegate effectively and become a more effective leader.

1. Learn to communicate clearly, which includes being a good listener.
2. Clearly define what it is you are delegating. Remember to tell them what to do, but not necessarily how to do it.
3. Get "buy in" from your people. Buy in is achieved when people feel that their opinion is respected and appreciated. It happens when people feel that they had something to do with the policies and procedures being implemented. Simply stated, ask for feedback from your team on a regular basis, and then really listen to it.
4. Remember that your purpose is to be there for your staff, for your team, not the reverse. Adopting this mindset is a key distinction in becoming a great manager and team leader.

We have all heard someone say, "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

This thought process actually creates an extremely narrow mindset. Thinking this way will only limit your success as a school owner or team leader. If you remember that the feeling of team is crucial to any well-run martial arts school, your ability to delegate successfully will become second nature and the end of the year won’t be so overwhelming now that you have your team helping you to the finish line..