Why some delegation is easy and some isn’t.

No man is an island. ~ John Donne [poet]

It would be hard to disagree that in business delegation is critical to Leadership Success.

At work we are rarely expected to do everything ourselves. And a good leader is one who is seen to recognise their limitations and bring talented people into their teams to access a wider pool of skills. This leaves them more time to focus on their own strength areas and on conceivably bigger or longer-term issues for the business.

This all sounds pretty logical. Although any manager of people would also tell you that it can also be the hardest part of any job.

Delegation in your private life

Now let’s fast-forward to delegation in your private life.

The growth of the ‘gig economy’ has brought a wealth of easy-to-access services that provide convenience and time-saving.

Some examples:

·       Dog walking

·       Flat-pack assembly crews

·       Grocery delivery

·       Laundry collection

·       Gift-finding

A few minutes spent online have these plates spinning quickly and cost efficiently.

The ‘too difficult to delegate’ stuff

But there is a rampage of other middle-difficulty household activities that fall somewhere between a chore and a project.

These require higher intelligence and know-how. They are not as easy and straightforward to delegate and can easily fall on to the ‘I’ll-have-to-do-it-myself’ pile.

While these are the home projects we are less likely to outsource, they are also the ones that run riot and shout loudly (and end up costing the most) when they don’t receive the attention they need.

We’re talking about:

·       That ominous-looking tide mark on the bedroom ceiling suggesting that the roof might be leaking (with some re-decoration required afterwards)

·       Those boxes of paperwork that need sorting to clear the space for a new chest of drawers being delivered. (Also need to set aside the papers that need attention..)

·       That sunken area of the driveway that needs fixing before the postman (or your evening guests) end up spraining their ankle. But who has the time to find, vet, and get quotes for trusted tradesmen who can do the job well enough?  

·       And on. And on.

Why we struggle to delegate in our private lives

If there were issues festering in your work life, you wouldn’t hesitate to delegate them to your team. Especially if you didn’t have the time for them yourself or if you weren’t sure how to go about them.

And yet, when it comes to our home lives, asking for help is harder.

Why?

Here are some of the possible reasons:

·       Not knowing where to start

·       Not being available during the day to make quick decisions

·       An unwillingness to pay someone else for something that could be done ourselves

·       Other things need more immediate attention, and this one can wait for now

·       It feels more laudable to prioritise work over personal life

·       A sense of losing control if someone else is handling something so close to home

·       How could anyone else know how we like things done anyway?

·       Never realised that you could ask someone else to do it

·       Wouldn’t it feel invasive? I like to keep my private life private

“You do have to let someone in a little bit, so that you can offload. But Consider it Done play it just right, discretely and respectfully. And the pay back is huge.” Charlotte B.

It’s a fact that to be successful at work, you also need success at home.

Do you struggle to delegate the noise in your private life? Or is delegation already a big part of your success strategy, both at work and in your private life? Contact us and find out how Consider it Done can become Your Strategy for Success today.