Effective Delegating

If you recall, last month we talked about your 'plate' and trying to balance everything that was on it. We talked about how your thoughts can impact your life and get in the way of keeping your plate level and easier to balance. This month we'll talk about delegating.

If you want to live a balanced, fulfilling life, you must free up mental, physical and emotional energy to pursue the things that bring the most value to your life.

Look at your current responsibilities. Which ones are you most passionate and excited about? Which tasks are you best at doing? Which tasks add value to your life and the lives of those around you? Take a few seconds and jot down this list.

Now, for all the things that you do that aren't on your list, you have a couple of options... drop them all together or delegate them to others.

Work should always be done by the lowest competent level. (Now I'm not criticizing anyone's competence, but we have all started at a lower competency level than we are at currently.) So ask yourself this question with every project or every task, "Do I really need to be the one who does this?  If not me, then who?"  Go to the next lower level and ask the same question. Go down through the ranks until you find the individual to which you have the authority to delegate this task or project.

Road Blocks to Delegation

That all sounds perfectly sensible, doesn't it? So, why don't you do it?

There are many reasons why you don't delegate. Here are a few of the most common:

1. It would be quicker to do it myself.

2. I'll feel better doing it myself.

3. I don't have anyone that I can trust to do it right.

4. I can do it better myself.

Each one of these reasons is supported by an 'unbalanced' thought process. Which one resembles your most prevalent reason for not delegating? Do you use more than one of these excuses regularly?

Let's look at each of these:

#1: This is an example of short-term thinking. Sure you may be able to do it quicker yourself, but wouldn't the other person appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow. Your thoughts are unbalanced by overvaluing the extrinsic and not fully appreciating the intrinsic. Besides, couldn't you be using your talents and skills in a more productive way?

#2: Sometimes our self-worth doesn't come from our intrinsic, infinite value as a human being, but instead from our (extrinsic) value as a 'human doing'. If your thought processes are out of balance and only make you feel good about you when you are 'doing', you will need to learn more about intrinsic value... keep reading these newsletters.

#3: Trusting someone usually requires an investment on your part. You have to invest in training or mentoring them. So many times we tell ourselves that "it's better to do it myself", then we wonder why our careers are not advancing the way we would like. Only when you invest in others will you truly be investing in yourself. Again, focusing on the task instead of the people indicates that your internal dialogue may be over focused on extrinsic value.

#4: This is an example of perfectionist thinking. Contrary to what your internal dialogue may be telling you, there is such thing as "good enough". When we spend 80% of our time making something 5% better, was it really a good investment? (I know that sometimes the answer is 'yes', but in most cases the answer is 'no'.) This is an example of an out of balance systemic thought processes. Your mind is more concerned with meeting its expectations than on the value all the tasks and people in your environment.

Recognizing the Road Blocks

The absence of delegation will hinder your progress more than anything else. If you want to leverage your time and energy, delegation is essential.

Take this short quiz. Answer TRUE or FALSE to these statements:

1. I take work home on most weekends and nights.

2. My subordinates always have less to do than me.

3. Planning is a nice-to-do, not a 'must'.

4. I have difficulty trusting others to do the right things or to do things right.

5. It is hard for me to accept ideas of others.

6. Confidentially, I feel that letting go of tasks makes me less important.

7. I have problems meeting deadlines.

8. I pride myself in doing everything perfectly.

9. I rarely ask for opinions from others or only on trivial matters.

10. I wish I had more time for my family, friends, vacations and recreation.

11. Letting go of tasks means that I have less of a handle on things.

12. It is viewed as a weakness to ask others to help you do your tasks.

Did you answer TRUE to 2 or more of these? If so, you may need some help with delegation.

Removing the Road Blocks

As we talked about last month we have 3 classes of value... from lowest to highest, these are systemic, extrinsic and intrinsic.

Systemic value is the lowest form of value (mathematically / axiologically). When you hold your unrealistic expectations of perfection (your ideas) at a higher value than people or wisdom or knowledge (intrinsically valued things), your thought processes are not aligned with success. You are actually sabotaging your success (as well as the possible success of others.)

Extrinsic value is higher value than systemic and so is a little better. In your mind, when you place more value on how well a task is completed than on the knowledge that can be gained by the person doing the task, your mind is focused on a lower level of value.

By being willing to delegate tasks to others you have the opportunity to show another person that you value them as an intelligent being capable of performing the task. When you allow another person to learn and grow you are now focused on intrinsic value.

Allowing others to learn and make mistakes, you can generate incredible advancement opportunities for your team members who currently have less knowledge, skill and experience while maximizing your productivity. This will not only help you, but also help them.

The success of those to whom you delegate does not just add to their achievements, it multiplies your achievements!

Want to know which of class of value your brain has been trained to mis-value?

Try the free online 6 Advisors assessment.

When you review your results, you'll see areas of balance - indicated by green bars. You'll also see areas or thought habits that are out of balance - indicated by yellow, orange/red bars. The green bars will support your efforts to delegate... the others are some of the thoughts that are hindering or sabotaging your ability to delegate.

Understanding how your brain processes thoughts and ideas is the first step toward overcoming the habits that keep you from being the best that you can be. Start today... take the first step... Try the free online 6 Advisors assessment.

Click here to view online.

April 8, 2008
PMI Houston - North
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Strack Farms
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Spring, Texas 77379
(281) 376-0901

April 9, 2008
PMI Houston - Galleria
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HESS Club
5430 Westheimer Road Houston, TX 77056
(713) 627-2283

April 17, 2008
Baton Rouge PMI
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DeAngelo's Restaurant
7970 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA
(225) 927- 2762

April 22, 2008
PMI Austin
5:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Joe C. Thompson Conference Center
University of Texas
2405 R. Dedman Dr.
Austin, TX
(512) 471-3121

May 13, 2008
Nat'l Assoc of Procurement Managers - Greater New Orleans Chapter
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans, LA

May 21, 2008
PMI Houston - Southwest
5:15 - 6:15 p.m.
Schlumberger
Sugar Land Campus
Forum Cafe
210 Schlumberger Dr.
(713) 513-2457

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