Delegating

If you delegate work, and you don't get what you want back as work product, try starting by assuming that you are part of the problem. 

One thing I see people struggle with when they start to delegate is that they subconsciously expect people to work the same way that they do or subconsciously expect them to be a mind reader. 

I expect most of us have been on the other end of this - where we gave someone some work product that they were disappointed in, and we had some thoughts about how much instruction or the type of instruction we were given…

We tend to forget this once we get in the position of the delegator.

And I don't mean you should assume that you are the problem as a way to judge yourself. Learning to delegate is a skill!

Just ask yourself “where was I potentially unclear?” “What could I have done differently to get better work product?” “How could I have contributed to this result?”

There is almost always going to be something. 

When we become a delegator, we often have a lot of thoughts about (a) how much time it takes to delegate and how it would just be easier to do it ourselves and (b) unrealistic and unexpressed expectations of others. And so we end up shorting the time we are willing to spend on the front end, how much explanation we give, how much background we give, how much instruction we to give, etc. 

Which is inevitably contributing to the type of work product you're receiving. 

That's not to say that the person giving you the work product doesn't have things to learn and couldn't have done it better or differently. Or that you shouldn’t give them that feedback. 

But you also need to evaluate your own role in the situation. And once you figure that out, if there are still gaps because of the way the other person showed up, you can address those from a cleaner place. 

But more likely than not, you are can alleviate some or much or even most of your frustration without the other person having to change at all. And it’s going to make you a better leader, which will inevitably lead to growth in the people you supervise. 

A ♥️ note to you: Being a better delegator will make your work life so much better. If you want to be a better delegator, I can help. Send me an email (jenn@jenndealcoaching.com) or hop on a free call with me to get started (jenndealcoaching.as.me/consult).