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    Why you probably stink at delegating

    Why you probably stink at delegating

    Great piece over at Lifehacker about delegation.  Why is it so difficult?  And why are most people so sucky at it?  Here are three very simple reasons...

    Kent Fenwick writes:  I will confess that I find it hard to delegate and ask for help. Many times I take the "It'll be better if I do it myself attitude." This is not good and as we say in the web world it's a habit that won't scale. Delegation is a habit and like all habits it takes practice and discipline to get it right. In fact, I think there are three dimensions to delegation that we have to master.

    The first is knowing what you can delegate. There are some things that you cannot delegate. Going to the bathroom, eating, sleeping and your art. Your art is the thing that you do that no one else does, and hopefully you get paid for it. My art is being able to program and to take complicated business rules and requirements and boil them down to simple applications. Maybe your art is customer service, blogging, serving the best coffee you can etc. Once you know what you can't delegate, everything else is fair game.
    Almost everything. I like to stick by the 2 minute David Allen rule defined in Getting Things Done. If the thing you are trying to do can be done by you in 2 minutes or less, do it and do it then and there. Otherwise, Delegate.
    The second is knowing how to delegate. This is the actual act of delegation. Asking someone else to do something for you. This is also a skill/art that requires practice. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey talks about stewardship delegation in contrast to gopher (go-for) delegation.
    Stewardship delegations defines the rules of the game and the desired outcome but leaves the details to the delegated. Gopher delegation is micromanagement at it's worst. You define every step with so much detail you may as well do it yourself. The more trust you have in the people you are delegating to the more natural stewardship delegation becomes but it takes practice and trust.
    A service like Fancy Hands doesn't lend itself to this kind of delegation at the beginning since the trust is low and you have no idea who is doing the delegating, but if you listen to that interview I linked above you will get likely develop more confidence in their service. I did. I have vowed to try to use this kind of stewardship delegation as much as I can.
    Don't forget. Ps and Qs go a long way in this step.
    The third is actually doing it. Putting on your shorts and shoes is great, but it will do you no good unless you go for a run. (Anne Fenwick Proverb)
    You must take the plunge and start delegating! Play the WTWTCH (What's the worst that can happen) Game. For example, when I used the acronym WTWTCH, I hoped you read the explanation and chuckled at the ridiculous use of an acronym in that situation. But maybe you didn't. Maybe you think I'm an idiot and aren't even reading this anymore. That's about the worst that can happen. So I did it. Same goes for delegation.
    Ask yourself What's the worst that can happen?
    Someone will say no.
    Okay, then ask someone else.
    Someone will do it wrong.
    Yes, that's true. However, use it as a chance to learn and get better at delegating. Did you define the task enough? Did you define it too much? Did you give the person any resources or recommendations that might have been helpful? Don't assume right away that because it wasn't done right it must be their fault. It's likely partially or fully your fault.

    The first is knowing what you can delegate. There are some things that you cannot delegate. Going to the bathroom, eating, sleeping and your art. Your art is the thing that you do that no one else does, and hopefully you get paid for it. My art is being able to program and to take complicated business rules and requirements and boil them down to simple applications. Maybe your art is customer service, blogging, serving the best coffee you can etc. Once you know what you can't delegate, everything else is fair game.

    The second is knowing how to delegate. This is the actual act of delegation. Asking someone else to do something for you. This is also a skill/art that requires practice. In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey talks about stewardship delegation in contrast to gopher (go-for) delegation.

    Stewardship delegations defines the rules of the game and the desired outcome but leaves the details to the delegated. Gopher delegation is micromanagement at it's worst. You define every step with so much detail you may as well do it yourself. The more trust you have in the people you are delegating to the more natural stewardship delegation becomes but it takes practice and trust.

    The third is actually doing it. Putting on your shorts and shoes is great, but it will do you no good unless you go for a run. (Anne Fenwick Proverb)

    You must take the plunge and start delegating! Play the WTWTCH (What's the worst that can happen) Game. For example, when I used the acronym WTWTCH, I hoped you read the explanation and chuckled at the ridiculous use of an acronym in that situation. But maybe you didn't. Maybe you think I'm an idiot and aren't even reading this anymore. That's about the worst that can happen. So I did it. Same goes for delegation.

    There is much more to this article that I think you'll really find beneficial today.  And you can read it all here.  (I actually didn't read it all... I'm delegating that to you.)

    Recently, I've really come to the point that I've determined I need to work much smarter rather than harder (or longer).  Delegation is a key skill that I need to master.

    What has been the best way that you have learned to delegate things?  Are there things that you ALWAYS delegate?  Things that you NEVER delegate?  How do you decide, and how do you follow through?

     

     

     

     

    Comments

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    1. @PaulSteinbrueck on Tue, November 02, 2010

      Good stuff/  I would add another important element between #2 and #3.

      #2.5) Recruiting/leading competent people to delegate to.  The more competent the people you have on your team the easier it is to delegate.  But if are a poor leader, poor recruiter, or you’re afraid of having people who are smarter and do things better than you on your team, then delegating is going to be a challenge.

    2. Leonard on Tue, November 02, 2010

      I just posted on Raise The Lid about leadership Traffic Jams.  This is a big part of the reason, lack of delegation.  We recently had 2 key leaders move on in our church.  They handled their transitions beautifully as they both entered new seasons in life.

      Interestingly enough, their moving forward opened the door for about 15 new leaders to step forward.  Sometimes we need to see delegation as a means of getting out of the way so others can step forward. 

      I am grateful these guys left people in place to delegate too.

    3. Leonard on Tue, November 02, 2010

      http://wp.me/1aEXC  My link was not entered correctly so try this.

    4. Peter Hamm on Tue, November 02, 2010

      I don’t have time, I think I’ll have my assistant read this article for me…

    5. Jan on Fri, November 05, 2010

      This is actually something I am pretty good at. 
      I think when it finally clicked for me was when I realized that there is power in delegating.  Because when you train someone up to do the job you are doing, you reproduce yourself. 
      The second truth that hit me was when that when I saw someone take the ball and run with it, there was joy in their success.
      Now, I am by habit continually looking for someone who is ready and willing to go for it.  It’s really not about delegation, it’s about investing in the lives of others and empowering them for ministry.

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