4 steps to Achieving ‘Intelligent Delegation’
Picture this. It’s Monday morning, the start of a new week. You have a good idea of what’s waiting for you at work - a clear schedule - and things feel relatively under control at home.
A few hours later, and you’re no longer doing things to your own agenda. An urgent meeting has taken over your entire morning, the nanny isn’t feeling well and wants to go home early, you’ve remembered the car MOT is coming up, and the day is slowly but surely shaping up as the opposite of what you had in mind.
Unfortunately, this isn’t just a Monday morning scenario. Even when events are less dramatic, the fact that you have a long list of responsibilities and commitments, both at work and at home, means your to-do list is never light. New things get added all the time, and the ones you wanted to do seem to slip towards the bottom of the list – closer to the ‘never getting done’ zone.
You already know that success at work relies on success at home. So how can you feel more in control? Have ‘the things you want’ happen, not just ‘the things that happen’ happen?
Through ‘intelligent delegation’.
So how does this work?
1. Categorise
Go through the burning tasks (both work- and home-related) - the ones that have painful consequences if they’re not tacked right away - and allocate these to the ‘must-get-done’ category.
These tasks might be tiresome and onerous. But they are non-negotiable. It could be things that have a deadline attached. Bills to pay otherwise things don’t happen. School uniforms to be bought and forms to sign. No matter what, they can’t be allowed to slip.
The next category to tackle is your ‘core work’ - this is what’s at the heart of what you do. It’s what adds value to your day - the weekly meeting with your team to assign responsibilities and agree objectives. A ‘briefing’ with the nanny to talk about where the children need to be and when.
And finally, look at anything that moves the needle, both at work and at home. Often, these are the things only you can do, like setting the department resourcing strategy for the next 12 months. Or having a heart-to-heart with the children’s teacher about an issue they’ve had at school.
2. Discard the deadwood
While going through your list (which could by the way be revolving around your head rather than existing on a piece of paper), did you notice any tasks that are there simply because ‘this is the way we’ve always done things’?
If you did, reflect that things change over time. Work dynamics and relationships evolve. Technology moves on. Markets shift. And the same happens at home. Children grow, school policies change, old commitments end, and new projects begin.
But you have the power to take control, across both your professional and your personal life.
Is there another way to do things? A new process, app, provider or service? Could shaking things up enable you to scrap some redundant tasks and re-frame others? Or perhaps make things happen more quickly, and without your involvement? Then there’s an opportunity worth exploring.
3. Rationalise and delegate
Once you’ve categorised and perhaps even managed to re-define some activities from your list, it’s time to start making the tough decisions. It’s easy to fall into the trap of going straight to the easy-to-fix tasks first. You can blast through these with your eyes closed, get a real sense of achievement for hitting lots of line items, and seeing a much shorter list afterwards.
But is indulging in the satisfaction of this the best way to use your time?
Maybe not. Because often, this is exactly the type of work that can be delegated. Even if it is in the must-get-done category. Not just in the office, but at home too.
There might be the need to invest some time upfront to make sure that the people you’re delegating to have all the relevant information and tools they need and understand the standard you expect. But once you’ve done that - and relinquished some control - you’ll immediately reap the benefits.
Delegating frees up head space, removes background noise, and allows a sense of calm. At this point you’re able to focus and take on the things where you add the most value – where your skills and experience count, the things that only you can do.
That’s why we call it ‘intelligent delegation’. There will always be things where it makes more sense for you to carry the actions yourself.
But the process of thinking through and being aware of the way you are prioritising and re-defining the activity in your world can be a powerful way to change your response from knee-jerking to being rationalised.
It’s a brilliant and discernible Strategy for Success.
And if you need any more convincing, see our article: Breaking news: it’s official: delegating makes you happy.
4. Reassess regularly
Equipped with the new awareness and control over what is happening across the piece, your role has changed from doing to reviewing.
Test out your new ways of thinking when something new comes in. Are the categories still working? Can you discard or delegate? Re-play new processes, check and if necessary re-invest in people as required. Over time they will become even more valuable to you.
If you find yourself spinning all the plates and unwritten lists in your head are shouting at you, we’d encourage you to pause and try out ‘Intelligent Delegation’.