It is terrific to delegate effectively in order to get done what needs doing.
Like most women, I think I am a superwoman. To paraphrase a popular jingle from my childhood, I can bring home the bacon, fry it and still make my husband feel like a man. At the same time, I recognize that I am one woman and that although I often do three things at once, on occasion, I need to delegate some tasks.
It is important to learn the correct way to delegate. The first step in delegation is to understand that you do not delegate tasks that only you can perform. For a businesswoman, this means if you are the authorized check signer, you cannot delegate signing payroll checks to the temporary worker in for the week. For a wife, you do not delegate intimate attention for your husband. Those are tasks that only you can perform. You delegate tasks that can safely be performed by another. For a businesswoman, this means you can let your assistant make copies, deliver telephone messages or run some errands. For a wife, this means you can hire a housekeeper or nanny to help with routine household chores.
The next important step with delegation is to give the person the task and let them have the opportunity to do the work. Most of you have heard the expression, “Let go and let God.” With delegation, the saying should be “Let go and let the worker work.” You will never be successful in delegating duties if you do not let the person you have given the task actually do the task. After all, you would not delegate to a person incapable of doing the task right?
It is not easy to delegate. We often have a hard time matching people to the tasks to be done. Delegation is a job for the strong. Be picky and make choices about those to whom you delegate tasks. Be careful, select the right person for the job so that you can be reasonably certain of success. Give the person the tools needed to do the job.
One more piece of advice, do not get upset if the person does the job differently than you would have. If the job is done and has been done correctly, the delegation was successful. Once you have delegated and the person you have chosen has done the task, make sure to use the special magic words we all learned before kindergarten, “thank you.” It makes people feel good to know that you trusted them with a job and that the work they did was pleasing to you. It is similar to the words sung by Marvin Sapp in this song:
Marvin Sapp “Never Would Have Made It”
So the question for you this terrific day is what can you delegate to someone else to more effectively get done what needs doing?
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