Getting It All Done: Delegate It

Hey-o, dear readers! This is the first part in a four-part series to answer the question posed by my friend Felicia in response to a call for blog topics: "A "getting it all done"-sort of thing?"

There are four options to get something done: delegate it, defer it, delete it or do it. Today, we're talking about the first one of these, because if done right, it can create the most positive repercussions.

Here's the thing: you don't have to do everything yourself. It's so easy to get caught up in your tasks and your expectations of yourself that you forget that there's other people out there. 

The word "delegate" tends to make us think of office situations, direct reports, assistants, that kind of thing. But the idea of spreading a workload around can apply to any situation.

For instance, say one of your tasks is "clean the house." If there are other people living in that house who are at least eight years old, you can delegate that task to them, breaking it up and parceling it out as need be. (If you're reluctant to assign your kids chores, let me assure you: chores done by kids not only make your life easier, they make your kids better roommates, partners and spouses when they grow up.)

If you live alone, you might believe that you have no choice but to clean the house yourself. However, you still have the option to hire a cleaning service to delegate that task to. It will cost money, but it will free up some time, and depending on how pressed for time you are, that might be a worthwhile investment. This can also apply to solopreneurs who get bogged down in paperwork: ask if it's worth your time to hire a virtual assistant so you can spend more time on your business.

"Delegation" doesn't always mean that you have more power than the person you're delegating to. In the case of overwhelm at work, you can delegate laterally by asking a co-worker to help you with a project, or delegate up by asking a manager for help by assigning more people to your workload.

There are two crucial aspects to delegation that make many people shy away from it. First, you're admitting that you can't do everything yourself. There can be a lot of shame attached to this, especially in a culture or an environment that values achievement. However, if you can recognize how unnecessary that shame is, how ridiculous it is to be reluctant to admit imperfections, you might find that the people around you welcome the chance to help. Keeping quiet and suffering through a stressful workload not only wears you out, it can distance you from the people in your life.

The second thing about delegation is that you have to be willing to let go of the results. Perfectionists really struggle with this one. If you're letting your fifth-grader do the laundry, the price you pay for that extra time and lowered stress is that you have to accept how they fold the clothes, even if it's different from how you were taught to fold them. If you're asking a co-worker for help, the price you pay is accepting their efforts.

Ironically, the more reluctant we are to ask for help, the more we guarantee that we'll be dissatisfied with the results. When we can ask someone to do something with the attitude that we're giving them a chance to contribute to a larger mission and to help us out, we're giving them a "want to" rather than a "have to." We're also more likely to take the time to spell out exactly what we need and to show them we believe they can do an excellent job.

Of course, delegation works best in an atmosphere of mutual respect and appreciation. If you've been treating the people around you unkindly, a delegation request will probably not be met well. So even if you don't have any delegate-able tasks on your list right now, begin creating an environment where people want to help each other—or at least help you.

What about you? Have you delegated anything recently? How did it go? Let me know in the comments!

Comments

[Sue]

HI Catherine,
Your words about re-framing a chore like task as a 'want to' keep coming to mind. I've worked with clients a lot with this one so it's even more helpful to have simple language to explain this. Thank you again for your clear and insightful posts, I'm always glad to receive them,
and it's always possible that I'll be able to refer people to you as clients.

I'd be interested in your approach to creating environment where respect and appreciation encourage a 'climate of confidence' with willingness and opportunity for people as delegees..the how to.
The words we use are obviously a big part of this. Specific, focused acknowledgment.

There's good stuff in 'The 5 love languages' material, for people who feel loved when they hear words of appreciation and for people in general - we all tend to blossom when they hear we're doing well.

Maybe a future post thread - with getting sorted the question is often 'how do I get the people around me to join in?'

Thanks again,
All the best,
Sue

[Sue]

Hi Catherine, I spotted this after I'd posted .. "we all tend to blossom when they hear we're doing well." Hmmm.

Should read: "We all tend to blossom when we hear we're doing well."

All the best,
Sue

[Catherine Cantieri]

That's a really good idea, Sue; I'll post something on that early in August.

Honestly, I think one of the best managerial, productivity, quality-control, etc. tools in the world is honest, true praise. It's free, it feels good to give and receive, it makes things so much better -- and yet it's used so infrequently, especially in the workplace.

Thanks for the comment!