Why is it so difficult? And why are am I so bad 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." 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. 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.
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?
One important thing I’m learning about delegating is that it gives others the opportunity to grow. The more we do everything ourselves, the less we allow the people around us to discover and develop their gifts and abilities.
As a volunteer leader I’ve always had trouble asking other volunteers to use their time to do things rather than using my time to do them. But in a way that’s even more selfish because it assumes that time is the only gift we bring to the table. Yes, things may not get done the way I would do them. Mistakes might be made. But people have to be allowed to make mistakes to learn and grow. So in a way, not allowing people to screw up may be one of the most selfish things I could do.
Delegating allows me to be more like Jesus. It allows me to trust, encourage, inspire, enable, and, maybe most importantly, forgive.
While I agree with everything you said , there is also the level of importance of what is being done and the level of control. I agree that people need the freedom to make their own mistakes because hopefully they’ll learn from them, but at what cost? When the project affects other people or in a public way, I think it’s also necessary to have a higher level of confidence in the potential outcome. This is the value of teams in my opinion. Shared Accountablitity and Vision.
And shared blame
Before I delegate, I have to imagine the consequences if the delegatee screws up. I’ll have to leave it alone or ask him to come back (and make him mad), make the changes, and pray that he gets it right the second time or just do it over myself (and make him mad anyway).
When I worked, I would inform the person up front that I am sort of anal and that I might just change what hehas done because I can’t help myself. He understood or at least pretended to. It usually went ok.
If I did have to redo something, I would ask him to help again right away and then try not to nit pick that task. Didn’t want to hurt his feelings.