Last week’s Thought Partner was titled Developing Yourself.
This week’s Thought Partner is titled Developing Others.
Ideally, the sweet spot appears when the two happen simultaneously.
We call that intersection, Delegation.
The challenges with proper delegation can be many, and often, we get tripped up by delegating to the wrong person or delegating the wrong things. Most of us know we can delegate items from our ever-growing list of things to do, but determining what those are can be problematic. If only there were a process that could help…
Thanks for asking!
Looking for opportunities to delegate? Give this a try:
1. Create a list of everything that you do. Yes, everything you can think of. The longer the list the better.
2. Cross off the one-off activities or the things you do only once per month (reporting, etc..)
3. Select the five core functions of your job. These are the five things that you will always own. No one else can do these five things but you.
4. Cross off the items that might automatically get accomplished because you’re doing the five functions of your job. These are byproducts that are completed simply by completing the five functions above.
5. Whatever is left on your list are opportunities for you to delegate. What does your list look like now?
Looking for people to delegate to? Consider the following:
1. Who has their figurative hand up? Who has been asking for more? Who is dialing in their work – not because they’re not giving you effort, but because they can do what they’re doing in half the time?
2. Look for people who own mistakes, not cover up missed metrics with excuses.
3. Look for busy people. The adage is true: If you want something done, give it to a busy person. Busy people are hustlers and hustlers typically get their jobs done.
If you are looking to develop yourself, do so by developing others.
