Work Smarter, Not Harder: Delegate
image source: wagg66Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment … seeming to do is not doing.
- Thomas Edison
Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and the Dalai Lama. They are all from different worlds, but what do each of them have in common? Other than being very influential, they all have only 24 hours in a day. So do the rest of us.
In order to become more effective, sometimes putting in more time is not an option. One of the ways of working smarter rather than harder is to rely on delegating.
No Person Is an Island
The notion of having one or more assistants seem to be only for the rich and powerful. In The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferris popularized the notion of using assistants through virtual assistants. These are people who typically are at remote locations and help with small tasks such as making travel arrangements or formatting a Powerpoint presentation.
The key here is that delegating tasks is recommended, either because there are other specialists who can do it better or simply because it buys us more time to do other important things. This logic contradicts the notions of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps”, “success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”, and “if you want a job done right, do it yourself.” Did Bill Gates program every line of code in Windows? He may have been very capable of doing that, but he only had 24 hours in a day. So do the rest of us.
If you’re like most people, you’re probably tapped out and don’t have the ability to add another 2-3 hours of more work in your day. So if you want your success to grow, delegating is not an option, but a necessity. You are likely doing some form of delegating already, so the key is to actively use delegating as a strategy and to do it in a way that can be consistent and sustainable.
A Guideline for Delegating
Sometimes people choose not to delegate because they had bad experiences in the past. There is always the chance of things not working out when a task is delegated, but it’s necessary if you want to scale your success. If you’ve been burned before by delegating, make a conscientious effort in figuring out what approach works best for you. Here are some guidelines to remember:
- Have clear deliverables: Poor communication may be the biggest problem with delegating tasks. Be explicit with the deliverables, and use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) as a guideline for this.
- Make sure there’s a good match with the delegated task: It’s no fun for anyone if you delegate a task to someone where there isn’t a good fit.
- Do not micromanage: Focus on the deliverables, not on how it gets there.
- Let the person know the big picture: Sometimes there needs to be improvisation made when something unexpected happens. It’ll work out if the person has a good idea of the big picture.
- Make yourself available: Did I mention that poor communication may be the biggest problem? Be accessible in case of any questions or concerns.
- Be consistent: Plan to use the person as a regular resource so that the learning curve is smaller in the future.
- Be supportive: Provide the person everything needed (time, tools, information) to succeed.
. Indeed, a success...
Al, these are some great tips. Personally I think #3 is very important. I used to work with a project manager who ran after us for every single task. She has taken project management to a different level… one that we can’t breathe…
Haha.
Cheers,
Ellesse
Hey Ellesse - that made me laugh out loud
I think because it kinda struck a cord with me.
I guess micromanagers really want to see the project succeed, so it’s due to being too zealous. Desire for success is a good thing when it’s controlled.
Hey Al
Great tips and you’re right delegation is a skill we must master for wildly abundant success. These tips are very useful practical steps to becoming excellent delegators.
In love, light and abundance x x x
Hi Lola - thanks for the feedback
I think delegation should be a skill that we all need, but somehow isn’t a skill that is really formally taught.
When I was training to be a Dominos (pizza) manager, delegation was harped on considerably. We were not to spend more than 40 hrs. a week in the store without darned good reason … and never do so consistently. It is one thing to put in extra effort to cover a temporary shortage, quite another to mis-manage so that the shortage was recurring or continuous.
I took the second highest award in the company in my first full accounting period.
BillinDetroit - that’s a great policy Dominos had. Congrats on being successful and getting awarded. It’s a good affirmation that delegation can indeed be a key to success.
It’s also important to consider how important the task is that you’re delegating. It might be an easy task, but if very important (such as depositing a lot of cash to a bank), then you should reconsider delegating.
Al,
Not only does traditional school fail to formally teach delegation, if you were to delegate anyway, you’d be guilty of cheating. Traditional school teaches us that having other people do work for us is unethical.
Moving from worker bee to entrepreneur or manger, learning to delegate was the most difficult thing I had to learn. It felt immoral at first, then it felt awkward, but now doing anything I should delegate seems like a waste of my time. I’ve come 180 degrees around.
Hi bsilva,
Great comment - it got me thinking! I agree with your point, but up to a certain extent. For important and fundamental tasks, it would be irresponsible to delegate them away. An old saying in the military is that you can delegate authority, but not responsibility.
Regarding your example, I can see how even that could be a necessary delegation. Going back to Oprah and Bill Gates - they have to trust their financial matters to a professional. I think what can be delegated is a case-by-case situation, but ultimately the responsibility is never truly delegated away.
Hi Steve,
Amen, brother - I cannot agree with you more! Your choice of words was great also… it felt “immoral” to delegate. The internal value system ingrained in us would be in conflict when we ask for help in getting things done.
I also like how you said that doing things you should be delegating is “a waste of time.” That point nailed what I was trying to talk about. Yeah, I can choose to do that simple task that takes up my valuable time, but by not delegating it, an opportunity cost was spent and something more valuable that I could have done was lost. We’re not talking about morality or ethics anymore, but simply talking about the bottom line. Thanks for the feedback!
Very good points to consider when delegating.
It is psychologically difficult for many new managers to let go of work that they were trained to do and that has helped them become successful. New mangers are usually only able to delegate when they realize it is not an abdication of responsibilities. New managers must be trained and coached in how to delegate, and must become skilled at regular review and follow up.
To Your Continued Success!
Jodi Rosenberg
Life Coach and Speaker
http://www.jodirosenberg.com
I got the same book as well. I am actually working less hours on my own business and spent more time on my happiness project to build the happiest blog in the world.
I think people will just need to do it instead of wanting to do it.
Hey Al.
Just found you.
This is a great practical and useful post.
As my online mate Steve Olson points out in his comments above, “Not only does traditional school fail to formally teach delegation, if you were to delegate anyway, you’d be guilty of cheating.”
As someone who has hired hundereds of employees/managers over the past twenty five years I’ve found that the single biggest hurdle ‘delegators’ face is the ability to vary their communication style with a number of different personalities.
While we all speak English the reality is that we all have our own unique language. The problem is that in typical conversation we mostly speak our language, and not necessarily the language of the person/s we’re trying to communicate with.
And it doesn’t matter how much talking we do, if we’re not speaking the same language we won’t find common ground or mutual understanding, and we won’t create desirable outcomes.
Great delegators recognise this and learn the different communication styles required to effectively deal with people.
Looking forward to reading more of your writing.
Craig
Jodi - great point about new managers and how delegating can conflict with their instincts. You made a great observation… it’s natural for new managers to want to be ambitious and control everything, so they have to be extra conscious about delegating without micromanaging.
@Smiles - congrats on succeeding with your project launched and running
Hi Craig - I’ve been a fan of your site and glad you came by
Excellent point about how different people have different communication styles. Although there might be tight deadlines and shortage of time, it’s always important to spend the time and effort for managers to make sure that effective communication occurs when delegating.
To take that point further, people also have different ways to get motivated as well. Understanding how to effectively communicate with that person, as well as what incentives can help motivate them is really helpful.
As a Virtual Assistant for Coaches, this topic is right up my alley – I love Tim Ferris. Recently on Shann Vander Leek’s blog (http://truebalancelifecoaching.blogspot.com/), she posted “Clobbering Overwhelm”, where she addressed this topic and added, “Eliminate any unnecessary tasks and activities. Do what you absolutely must, and junk what isn’t an absolute necessity.” As a VA for coaches, I often help people with the delegating part, but one of the things people overlook is asking themselves if they really need or want to do these things in the first place!
Terri Carey
Virtual Assistant for Coaches
TLCServicesOnline.com
Terri, a great point, and . . . what about people who don’t *really* know how to distinguish, or folks who have a lot of stuff in the middle ground between “must” and “nah”? Your advice is terrific, but I can’t help wonder if it’s a little too simplistic for safe public consumption?
Jeff Yablon
President & CEO
Virtual VIP
Middle ground is dangerous - if you allow middle ground between what you must do and what you choose to do then you are not looking hard enough at it in my opinion. It should be - do myself, don’t do and delegate. If you add other choices it slows the process. Remembering that you have a choice to put them in each category is also important.