The Art of Delegation - Is it Worth it? - Get Articles by Teresa King |  |
> Get Articles > Management and Best Practice > The Art of Delegation - Is it Worth it? The Art of Delegation - Is it Worth it? Download as PDFTeresa King teresanetswan.com Creative Living - Home and Business http://www.fazzles.com The Art of Delegation - Is it Worth it? One of the things that I had to do some really strong changing on is the old adage: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." When you work at home, you will be taking on all kinds of new skills. You will learn organization, taxes, web building, selling, writing, people relationships, and so many more things. As these "things" pile on, you will find there is just not enough time in the day for "little old you" to get it all done by yourself. One of the hardest things that I have had to learn was to give a job to someone, expect that it would get done properly, and finished in a timely manner. My first delegation was looking at my housework load. Yep, it was time to hire in a helper. I figured once a week would help a lot. I'm pretty easy going. The new help said she'd be here at 3:00. 3:15 rolls around.... well.... not ideal... but I am sure there is a good explanation. 4:00 gets there.. and I get worried......... so "I" start cleaning. Can't have the house a mess this long, can I? 4:30, the help arrives with an explanation. "Oh, I had to do such and such and it got later than I thought, so where do I start?" Okay, we are off.... "Well," I offer, "I'd start with the laundry as it will take a few hours in washing and drying time." The new helper says, "Great idea," and starts cleaning the kitchen. I look at the clock, and think okay.... the help will be here way past the time I was expecting. But, I get busy with my computer work at home stuff..... and get several interruptions... "...where is the..? where do you want...? And, Lordy, what in the world is this...?" Patience.... is a great virtue. I know that after one time of learning my house and where things go, the next time things will go smoothly. Meanwhile, I get some extra jobs and have a couple of deadlines, so I write a "handy-dandy-in-a-pinch" friend to offer work. And, get a great response: "Yay, work.. thanks. When do you need it done?" "Three days, at max," I answer matter-of-factly. The email comes back: "You want what done in three days? It's impossible." And, so I give half the job, and add the rest to my overflowing calendar. Meanwhile, in the background: "What do I do with this stuff in your fridge?" I look and say, "dump it down the garbage disposal." "Oh, it is that old? I was thinking of eating it for a snack." And, on goes delegation. The phone rings, someone wants me to come to a cookie bake, and presumes I will bake cookies. So, I add that to my list of "to dos." Then I think, 'wait a second' I don't have time to bake, so ponder for a moment...... Who can I delegate that one to? And, remind myself to stop taking on more than I can handle. Then wonder if anyone truly can bake cookies better than I can, and get them to the cookie bake on time? Ah, the art of delegation. The person calling me delegated cookies for me to bake. Well, I can delegate cookies to get baked, too. I think? And, quickly ponder on where the best bakery is in town, just in case the one I delegate to doesn't produce. Delegation truly is an art. It takes awhile to let loose of the balloon string and expect someone else to catch it before the balloon flies away. Is delegation worth it? Believe it or not, it is. You put trust in people and they feel you trust them. With that trust, they feel better about themselves and absolutely will do their best. No, it does not have to be done the way you expect it to be done. Just know that your way is not the only way to get a job done. As time goes on, you will truly learn that other people can take on responsibility for you. They may not start as you would start, or do things the way you do them, but they really can do it too. It's the end result that counts. And, don't forget that while you show them how to grease the cookie pan just so, they may well be thinking that using a wax paper cookie pan liner is way less messy and has less calories, as they secretly think, "If you want something done right, do it yourself." ~~~~~~~~~~~ Teresa King manages www.fazzles.com a newsletter for Creative Home - Work and Living and is the author of "What Did Mama Forget to Teach You?" http://www.tipsfortop.com/whatdid.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How useful did you find this article? This article can be downloaded freely from http://www.get-articles.com and used on your website or in your ezine so long as the author is credited and their resource box left intact. You should not change any links in the article, and where the article is used on a website it's links should be clickable. Please see our terms and conditions page for more information: http://www.get-articles.com/authors-publishers-terms.php |
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