Delegating to Lighten Your Load
When your cup is overflowing or you are feeling signs of production overwhelm, what do you do? If you push through, you run the risk of making things worse; if you give in, you may feel like you have failed. It can be a slippery slope.
Let me share a story about a lesson in lightening my own load. This occurred many years ago when I was fairly new to managing other people. I had been elevated to the manager level because of my knowledge/expertise, my drive to get things done, and my ability to motivate and support others. It was something I was excited about and felt prepared for. Fast forward several months. The “honeymoon period” was over and I was expected to be comfortable in the new role and effectively managing my small team. I had a handle on the work to be done, but not the workload distribution. I thought, in error, that as the manager I was to do the majority of the work myself and in doing so, I was drowning. In a meeting with my manager, with whom I had built quite a bit of mutual trust and respect, I admitted that I was overwhelmed, overworked and falling farther and farther behind. I let him know how I had tried to manage my time and stay organized. His kind and simple inquiry left me floored: how much of the work being funneled to me was I distributing among my team? The answer: not much. It wasn’t that I thought I had to do everything myself–I was concerned that I would overwhelm the team members, and I didn’t want that; nor did I want them to think I wasn’t capable or that I was lazy. So, while I had too much work, they were often underchallenged and idle, as well as frustrated with my unavailability and irritability. What was the solution? One big slice of “humble pie” with a healthy dollop of delegation.
This was in the dark ages–before the invention of the Internet. In order to learn what and how to delegate, I had to find and read some books and magazine articles; and I talked to other, more seasoned managers to learn ideas that worked for them. I was also honest and vulnerable with my team: I let them know what had happened, how I was feeling, and that I needed help. Instead of just handing out work, I asked the team for their ideas and interests (a suggestion I got from one of those books!) and together we developed a delegation framework that met enough of everyone’s skills, interests and needs. What had previously been a worried and over-extended manager and disengaged workers quickly became a collaborative, supportive, curious, energized and well-performing team. Below are a few of the intentional changes I have incorporated when managing workload:
Ensure priorities are clear and changes are communicated timely.
Offer the work to the person who is best suited to do it–either because of current experience or growth opportunities (or outsource it if that is an operational and financial option).
Check in regularly with myself and others to ensure no one is too overwhelmed or idle.
Cultivate honesty and transparency among the team so that people can feel comfortable offering input and asking for help.
Remember that efficiency isn’t always part of the desired outcome–sometimes in learning something new, someone may take longer or do it differently.
Share and integrate lessons learned so that everyone may benefit from the knowledge and experience.
While the above example is geared more toward business settings, it can also be applied within families, communities and more: identify something that can be delegated, pick someone capable to give it a try (even if they don’t have all of the skills or robust experience); give them time, space and support to learn and make progress, redirect when necessary, and recognize accomplishments.
I still sometimes have trouble delegating work or tasks to others, especially if it is something I enjoy doing myself or in which I take particular pride. And, I have learned time and again that delegating in the right circumstances to the right person with the right support plan can be a gift that keeps on giving to all involved.
