To Delegate or DIY?

Delegate: verb; to entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself.

Alternate Definition: to create more work for yourself when you have to double check what someone else was supposed to do.

Nothing is more frustrating that delegating work to an individual on your team only to have to spend the same amount of time, or more, checking their work – or even worse, re-doing it. While I firmly believe that delegation is a large part of helping someone grow, I also believe that if something that is meant to help you is only creating more work for you, then it really isn’t working.

The same can be said for all of us DIYers out there. We pile all the work on ourselves, wanting to be sure the work gets done correctly the first time and in the manner that we wish but then we wind up pushed to the very brink of our professional limits, struggling to get everything on that to do list done. But at least we have the satisfaction of knowing it was done right the first time….right?

Is there truly a happy medium?

Maybe these “Do’s and Don’ts of Delegation” can help:

 DO: Be clear with expectations and directions; Be patient; Give support; Stay firm with who is ultimately responsible for the outcome of said task

DON’T: Expect people to read your mind; overestimate OR underestimate someone’s abilities; Gloss over feedback – constructive criticism is helpful

 What are you – a Delegator or a DIYer?